Prophecy of Ages
by The New Duke
Summary: The Hero of Time is rejected by the goddesses, killed by the prophesied demon Ganon, and Princess Zelda is forced to seal herself and Ganon away to save her kingdom. When the seal fails 3000 years later, will a hero rise again? Or will darkness reign?
1. Prologue

The Legend of Zelda:

Prophesy of Ages

* * *

Prologue

"Never ending clash of sword will, by hero and demon be made."

Link pushed himself to his feet, straightening his blood splattered green tunic. It had been a while since he had fought an opponent quite as challenging as the red-haired man standing before him. _How long will this battle last?_ he wondered. They were both being pushed to their physical limit, but neither seemed to be gaining the upper hand. They were too evenly matched. Making sure that the black robed man before him was still trying to catch his breath, the blonde Hylian stole a quick glance to the room's only other inhabitant. Underneath the high vaulted ceilings of the temple, and in front of the empty marble pedestal that until recently had housed a hero's blade, knelt the ruler of the realm, Princess Zelda. Her pale figure was clothed in the royal garb of Hyrule, her beautiful white silk dress complimenting a pink blouse and a light blue apron embroidered with intricate golden symbols. Atop her dark hair was a finely crafted golden crown, and her bangs had fallen in front of her face, hiding her closed eyes.

Link was glad his friend was safe, but knew that although she looked almost asleep, she was fighting her own desperate battle in order to defeat the man before them and save the kingdom of Hyrule. Without her, the red-haired Gerudo would have long since prevailed through use of his unearthly dark magics.

"You don't have time to be looking away boy!" the robed man yelled, once again charging forward. Caught off guard, Link barely managed to get his sword up in time to counter a thrust to his heart.

"I will not let you destroy Hyrule, Ganon!" he barely managed to parry another stroke as Ganon swung around, aiming for his neck.

"You want to save Hyrule?" he yelled, swinging again and again at Link. "You couldn't even save your own people." With one last slash that scraped the side of Link's face, Ganon jumped back.

Link knew that he was being provoked, knew that he should be emotionless during a fight, but the comment had struck home. If only he had been a little quicker, a little closer to Ordon, he could have saved them. Against Princess Zelda's wishes he had left Hyrule and traveled to the neighboring kingdom of Termina in search of adventure. With his head so full of thoughts of fame and glory, he hadn't even stopped to consider what terrors might befall the kingdom in the absence of the Hero of Time. After a few uneventful months, Link began to hear dark rumors in the taverns that he frequented. Rumors of Hyrule being invaded by the desert tribes known as the Gerudo. Worried for his kingdom, Link had ridden back as fast as his horse would carry him, but it was too late. The Gerudo had already taken the small town of Ordon at the edge of Hyrule, and were marching on the castle, destroying everything in their path.

Link had grown up in Ordon, been raised by the people of the town. His parents had died while he was very young, leaving him homeless and friendless. Luckily, the people of Ordon had taken him in and raised him in place of a mother and father. He owed them so much, and when he began his journey as the Hero of Time, he had vowed not to forget the kindness that they had shown him. But in their moment of need, where was he? In some foreign land seeking fame and glory.

Now they were all either dead or being sold as slaves in far off lands. All because of his foolishness, all because of his reckless arrogance. Link cursed himself, _I don't deserve to be alive_.

_No_, he realized as he raised his sword, settling into the all too familiar fighting stance. It was the person in front of him who was to blame. Ganon, the demon from prophesy and the leader of the desert Gerudos who had killed his people. It was his fault that his family had died, he was responsible for Link's suffering. A fire slowly began to burn in the pit of his stomach. He knew that he shouldn't let anger drive his actions, but his oxygen-starved brain wasn't thinking as clearly as it should.

"It was almost sad how pathetically the villagers clung to the hope that you would come to save them," Ganon sneered, eyeing the Hylian to see if his remark had any effect. "It wasn't until the very end that they realized you had abandoned them."

With a roar Link launched himself at Ganon, recklessly slashing at his aggressor.

"No Link!" Zelda screamed from behind him, but he couldn't hear her. Blind rage drove him, filling his ears with a loud ringing and causing his vision to go red. Swing, stab, thrust. His anger gave him power, but made his every move too dramatic; easy for Ganon to avoid.

"You monster!" Link screamed, his blood boiling in his veins. "Damn you!"

Ganon parried one of Link's more violent slashes, swinging around to kick him in the chest. Hard. The mere force of the kick sent the green-clad warrior flying through the air, finally coming to rest near the feet of the princess. He groaned, pain blurring his vision. For a few seconds it was all he could do just to stay conscious.

"Link, are you alright?" the princess lay a hand on the struggling hero. He managed to get back to his feet, but almost collapsed again when he felt his chest; at least two of his ribs were broken.

"Please Link," Zelda pleaded from his side. "Remember what you're fighting for. The goddesses chose you to protect—"

"The goddesses." Link interrupted, malice icing his every word. "Where were the goddesses when Ordon was ravaged? Where was Farore when its people…my people were viciously slaughtered, their corpses left to rot in the sun?"

"Link—"

"The goddesses have abandoned us," he went on, causing Zelda to look at him in alarm, "and I will fight for them no longer."

"No." Zelda whispered, fear impeding her tongue.

"But I swear," Link began again, gritting his teeth in pain as he hefted his sword. "By the time this day is out, I will see this man dead." Link suddenly brought his sword up and pointed it at the Gerudo king. "You hear me Ganon?" he yelled. "I swear I will see you burn!" With a ferocious yell Link charged forward, ignoring the shouts from the woman behind him.

Sparks flew as their blades met. Link wasted no time in attacking again and again, pushing Ganon back by the incredible viciousness of his assault. The flurry continued, and through his pain and hate Link could tell that Ganon was becoming weaker. With a powerful downward slice Link knocked the demon's black sword onto the ground between them.

He grimaced as he slowly brought his sword up the Ganon's unprotected neck.

"Go back to hell, demon," Link said quietly. Then, with a yell, he drew his sword back and swung, aiming to behead the Gerudo. Everything seemed to slow as his blade neared Ganon's dark skin. _With this my family will be avenged._

Suddenly a jolt of pain shot through him, originating from the sword hilt in his hands. What was happening? He was paralyzed, unable to move, unable to finish the blow that would end the red-haired man's life. For some reason his sacred blade would not allow him to destroy the demon. Why had the Master Sword turned on him?

Realizing that something was wrong, Ganon quickly reached in front of him and grabbed his fallen blade. With a laugh, he thrust the sword toward Link's torso. Still unable to move, Link could only watch in horror as the black blade tore through his tunic and into his chest.

"Link!" he could hear Zelda scream as he sunk to the floor. Blood quickly began pooling around his body. Strangely calm, he realized that Ganon had pierced his heart. He was dying. A profound sense of sorrow overcame him. He had failed Hyrule. With his death, nothing would stop Ganon from enslaving the rest of the realm. A tear formed in the corner of his eye as darkness overtook him. _I have failed._

* * *

"Link!" Zelda screamed as she watched Link fall, still transfixed by Ganon's sword. "No…" she whispered. With a sob she sprang to her feet and ran toward her collapsed friend. _This has to be a dream_, she screamed inside, _this can't be real!_

As she neared the body Ganon began to laugh hysterically, turning around and lifting his arms to the heavens as if to welcome the Goddess' wrath.

_The Master Sword rejected him,_ Zelda realized as she slid to a stop near the fallen hero, _but why?_ Afraid, of what she might find, she slowly reached out her hand toward Link's still chest. It was no use, none of her magic could help him now, he had already passed on. Carefully she removed the blade from his body and flung it aside. Then she buried her face in his shoulder, tears running down her cheeks. _Why?_ She sobbed, pain wrenching at her heart.

_What will happen to my people?_ Zelda suddenly realized that without the Hero of Time, hope was lost. Ganon could take control of Hyrule easily, but she doubted that he would stop there.

Ganon's perpetual laughter slowly brought her out of her mournful stupor. She needed to stop him. She couldn't let him destroy her kingdom, she couldn't let him enslave and murder her people. Slowly she reached her hand into Link's belt pouch, pulling out a sky blue ocarina. The instrument seemed to hum in her hands. _Goddesses, I hope this works._ She thought to herself as she brought the gilded flute to her lips.

Taking a deep breath, she blew. Out came the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard, each note rising and falling with the beat of her heart. Time itself seemed to shudder as the melody continued.

Ganon stopped laughing and spun around. "No!" he yelled as he realized what Zelda was doing. With a roar he reached out as if to snatch the ocarina out of her hands, but he was too late. The last note rang out, reverberating amongst the empty columns. As the sound dissipated, an overbearing silence took hold. The princess and the demon were nowhere to be seen.


	2. Part 1, Chapter 1

Part 1

The Legend

* * *

Chapter 1

"Old will topple, the new shall be found."

The memories of kingdoms vanish as the sands of time scour the bones of the one's who remembered them. Legends though, can pass untouched through the trials of the ages. Being passed from person to person, generation to generation they endure, surviving on the wind's breath.

The first tendrils of summer were touching the bustling city of Hylia. Cars roared up and down the roadways, drivers oblivious to the forgotten magics that lay dormant within the land. Mother's tended to their children, unaware of their royal lineage. Ignorance plagued the newest generations, and even historians knew little about what came before.

"Psst!" Link whispered under his breath, trying to get the attention of the girl sitting in the desk next to him. It was the last day of high school for the two seniors, and Link was getting a little antsy.

"Psst! Malon!" Link tried again. _She must be asleep, _he thought to himself. Checking to make sure the teacher was preoccupied, the boy leaned over and quickly smacked the top of her desk. She jumped, and woke with a loud snort.

"Deku trees!" she said loudly, causing the class to burst into laughter. The teacher, however, didn't seem amused.

"Miss Lon!" he said with comically raised eyebrows. "I know it's hard, but please, try not to disrupt the class."

"Sorry Mr. Jones," she said sleepily. "It won't happen again."

"That's 'cause you won't be able to fall asleep again before the bell rings," Link muttered under his breath, winning a glare from the red-haired girl sitting next to him. He and Malon had met each other in preschool, and had been best friends ever since. Today she was wearing jeans, as usual, and the purple tee shirt that Link had gotten her for her birthday. Strangely, that made him smile. Around the neck was a yellow scarf that she had recently taken to wearing. Link thought it looked good on her. Somehow, everything looked good on her.

He was a bit scruffy by comparison. His blue sweater was a size too big and his long tan shorts always seemed to have a stain on them, no matter how hard he tried to keep them clean. When he was a kid, he had taken to the habit of growing his hair out long in an unsuccessful attempt to hide his unnaturally long, pointed ears. It had been years since he last cared what people said about them, but he kept his hair long all the same.

"Psst, Malon!" he whispered again now that she was awake.

"What?" she whispered back heatedly. "I was having a nice dream."

Link had to suppress a laugh at how depressed she sounded. He motioned her to watch as he took a paper airplane out from under his desk. He took a moment to carefully aim the aircraft. Then, with a wink at Malon, he let it fly. _Direct hit!_ He congratulated himself as the object struck the back of the irritable teacher's balding head.

Mr. Jones spun around, furiously snatching the airplane off the ground. "Who threw this contraption!?" Malon couldn't help but let out a quickly suppressed giggle. "Miss Lon!" he said, eyebrows again climbing up his forehead. "I'm afraid that you're going to need to stay after cla—"

_RIINNNNGGGGG!!!_ Malon broke into as she ran out the door. "Have a nice summer Mr. Jones!" Link yelled back at the teacher as he followed Malon into the hall.

"Freedom!" Malon yelled, spinning in circles and receiving some strange looks from passerby. "C'mon slowpoke! Let's get outta here, this place is so dismal." Link smiled at Malon's enthusiasm, but hesitated before following her down the hallway to the exit. He almost regretted leaving the school. Not that he had experienced a very pleasant high school journey; most of the time he was alone, ostracized by his peers because of his odd ears. However, the building had sheltered him. He didn't think he could count the number of times he'd snuck onto the roof just to get some time alone.

With a sigh, he followed Malon outside. She had already detached her bike from the rack, and was off a little bit saying goodbyes to some of her friends. Link detached his bicycle as well, but didn't join up with this friend. He knew that some people felt awkward around him, and he didn't want to ruin Malon's conversation. After a few minutes she walked over to him, giving him an apologetic look.

"Popular kids," he said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

"Whatever!" She biffed him on the arm. "So do you wanna come over to my place for dinner tonight?"

"Actually, I was kinda hoping that you'd come over to my house for the night," Link suggested. "Becky's staying the night too, and in the morning my brother was going to take us on a picnic to the archery range."

Link's brother Samir had taken care of him since their parents had died in a car accident a few years back. The police report stated that their parents had been avoiding another car, probably a drunk driver, and had run off the road and into a tree. Their mother had died instantly, but their dad had lived just long enough to make it to the hospital and say goodbye to his children.

Since the accident, Sam had don't his best to provide for Link, taking up odd jobs around the city to pay for their small house. They never had much money, but Sam would always find a way to get Link what he needed. Link was extremely proud of his brother, and admired everything that he did. Whenever he wanted to curse the goddesses for taking his parents, he instead thought of Sam, and thanked them that he hadn't been killed as well.

As Link and Malon set out for Link's house, Malon struck up another conversation. "So how long have your brother and Rebecka been dating now?" she asked. "It's been quite a while."

"It'll be two years next week," Link replied, riding up alongside her. "Becky's almost as much a part of our family as you are." Neither of them spoke as they turned into Link's neighborhood. Link could tell that Malon had something on her mind.

"What's up Mal?" he asked, using her childhood nickname. She hesitated for a second, slowing down their bike ride as she did so.

"Has Sam said anything about…" her voice trailed off.

"About what?" Link asked, clueless as to what Malon what talking about.

"Ah, nothing," Malon said. "You already would have told me if he had."

"What?" Link asked again, now curious.

"Well, I was wondering if Sam had said anything about what he plans to do now that you're out of high school," she said, giving him a sideways look. "It's gonna be hard for him to stay with Rebecka if he decides to move away to college or something."

Link was stunned. He hadn't considered the possibility that his brother would want to leave. In fact, he hadn't really thought about what Sam would do now that he didn't need to stay around to tend his little brother.

"Don't worry about it," Malon said as they turned down Link's street. "You're brother wouldn't just run off without talking to you first. He really cares about you."

"Yeah, you're right." Link nodded in agreement, his fears momentarily relieved. Together, they put their bikes in the shed and walked up the pathway to Link's house. In the wake of their parent's death, Sam and Link discovered that their inheritance couldn't continue to pay for the expensive house they had been living in. Fortunately, after a few months Sam found a cheap, run down old shack that they could afford. It took weeks of hard work to make the house livable. In fact, the work never really ended. Link could remember how they were forced to sleep in the kitchen the first time that it rained because the roof was so leaky. It had definitely been a lot of work to fix it up, but it had paid off.

Walking into the house, Link wondered what life would have been like if their parents were still alive. They would have a nicer house, for one thing. His brother, Sam, was sitting on the couch facing away from the door, obviously engrossed in the soccer game playing on the television.

"Hey guys!" Sam said, finally noticing the pair. "How was the last day of school?" Sam had just recently turned twenty-four, but his long brown hair covered his forehead, making him appear younger. Usually he dressed pretty formally, but tonight he was just wearing jeans and a tee-shirt.

"Fine," Link said, wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"Yeah, but not that we got that over with, we can finally get on with the rest of our lives," Malon interjected, obviously in a good mood.

"So when's Becky coming over?" Link asked, him and Malon joining Sam on the couch.

"Any minute," Sam replied, checking his watch. "Actually, I'm surprised that you beat her here."

"It's weird for her to be late," Malon said, grabbing some chips out of the big bag lying on the coffee table. Sam was just about to respond when Rebecka walked through the door.

"Sorry guys, did I miss anything?" she said as she hung up her coat. "My job interview ran longer than expected." She walked over to the couch and bent over to kiss Sam, her long red hair falling around his face.

"Not a thing," he said as she pulled away. "I was just about to call for pizza." Sam stood up and walked into the conjoining kitchen. Rachel took his spot, her long slender form easily sliding in beside Link.

"Alright, pizza!" Link exclaimed, giving Malon a high-five.

"Yeah," Sam said from the kitchen, his voice carrying through the wide entryway. "I thought you two would like that better than a nice homemade dinner. Especially since I would be the one cooking."

The pizza arrived before the soccer game was over, so the group ate in front of the television.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Sam said to Rebecka as he leaned forward to grab the last piece of pizza. "How did your job interview go?"

"It went alright," she replied. "The manager really seemed to like me, and they said that they'd call me in a day or two if I got the job, but I don't know…" she trailed off as their soccer team made a spectacular cross in front of the other team's goal.

"Come on…" Malon urged. "Take the shot!"

"Yes!" they all yelled as the ball went sailing into the net.

"What a shot!" Link said, tapping his glass against Sam's as the game ended. "Perfect way to finish a match!"

"Definitely," Malon said as she and Rebecka stood and stretched. Rebecka grabbed the empty pizza box and went to throw it away in the kitchen. "Hey Link, what do you say to going out and watching the sunset at the lake?" Malon asked.

Link laughed. "Sure, let me ask Mom." He turned to Sam, who chuckled. "Hey Mom…"

"I don't care, just try not to fall in," Sam replied.

"Sweet," Link said, following Malon into the kitchen. Sam could hear some laughter in the next room that was suddenly cut off as the door swung shut. After a minute Rebecka walked back into the living room.

"Those two," Sam said, shaking his head and grinning. Beck tiredly walked over and lay on the couch next to him.

"I wonder when they'll figure it out," Rebecka said as she lay her head on Sam's chest and closed her eyes.

_She looks so peaceful,_ he thought to himself. Aloud he replied, "What?"

"How perfect they are for each other."

* * *

Link and Malon arrived at the lake just as the sun was beginning to set. As kids, they had discovered an old, abandoned boat dock on the backside of the lake during a picnic trip with Link's parents. After that, whenever they came to the lake they would always watch the sunset from the small pier.

"We almost missed it," Malon said, leaving her bike near the shore and walking out to the edge of the dock. Link propped his bike up on its kickstand and followed her.

"This is nice," Link said. Together they took off their socks and shoes, dangling their feet in the cool lake water as the sun continued to set. Glancing at Malon, Link was struck by how beautifully the sun reflected off of her long red hair. _What am I thinking?_ he said to himself, quickly turning his gaze back to the lake. After a moment though, his eyes found their way back to Malon, only to find that she was looking at him as well. His striking blue eyes locked with her elegant brown ones for what seemed like an eternity. Link thought that he could happily stay like this forever.

"I got you something," Malon suddenly said. She turned around and reached into the bag she had brought with her. After a minute she pulled out the oldest looking book Link had ever seen. The faded green cover didn't have a title that Link could see, but engraved on the front were three golden triangles arranged to form one larger triangle. "I found this buried under some old movies at the pawn shop downtown. The owner didn't have any idea what it was, so I bought it and looked it up online when I got home. Turns out, it's over three-hundred years old. It's one of the only known records of the—"

"The Legend of Zelda." Link interrupted, his voice airy with excitement.

"Yeah," Malon replied, obviously surprised. "How did you know?"

"I dunno," Link said, and for the life of him, he couldn't recall why he had said that. "Must've been a lucky guess."

"Right," Malon said skeptically. "Anyway, I remember you told me that your parents used to tell you stories about the Cycle of Eternity when you were a kid. I thought you might like this."

"They used to tell me about Princess Zelda and the Hero of Time. About how they were reincarnated again and again in order to stop the desert demon. They told me the stories every night before I went to sleep," Link said, quietly reminiscing. He looked up at Malon, a sad look in his eyes. "Thank you."

Malon leaned over and gave Link a hug. She could tell how much it meant to him. "You're welcome."

"You wanna hear a story?" Link said suddenly, brightening up. "I could tell you about the beginning of the world."

"Sure!"

"Alright, I hope I can remember," he said, his eyes glazing over as he tried to recall the story.

"The world was created by the three golden goddesses: Din the goddess of power, Nayru the goddess of wisdom, and Farore the goddess of courage," Link began. "Din used her power to cultivate the land and create red earth. Nayru, with her wisdom, gave the spirit of law to the land. Then Farore stepped upon the world and, with her rich soul, created life that would uphold the law. Their labors completed, the goddesses departed for the heavens, leaving behind the golden triforce at the point where they left the world." Link opened the book, leafing through some pages before he found an ancient drawing of what appeared to be a group of people in the middle of a great fire. "However, the people were not safe. After a thousand years a man appeared from the desert and tried to steal the sacred triforce from the Temple of Time. The goddesses shattered the triforce into three pieces in order to prevent his dominion of the sacred realm. The triforce piece of power was given to the evil demon Ganon, the triforce piece of wisdom was given to the Princess Zelda, and the triforce piece of courage was given to a boy of the forest who was known as the Hero of Time."

Link turned another few pages to a picture of a boy clad in green, he held a bright sword in his hands and under his foot was the body of a boar. "The three Chosen became locked in a battle that lasted for eternity. The Hero of Time would arise and seal Ganon away with the help of Princess Zelda. Then, in the next age, Ganon would break free of the seal and the Hero of Time would reawaken in a brave youth, who would earn the help of the princess and seal away the demon once more. Thus was the beginning of the cycle of eternity." Link closed the book, his voice becoming more lighthearted. "Nobody knows what became of the Chosen. Some believe that they are still out there, waiting for the cycle to turn again. Others believe that the cycle has been broken forever."

Link blinked in surprise when he realized that Malon had rested her head on his shoulder while he was telling the story. Her eyes were closed, and for a minute Link thought that she had fallen asleep. "And what do you think?" Malon asked groggily, on the verge of falling asleep.

"I think it's just a story," Link replied softly. He lay his head upon Malon's brow and together they watched the sun sink below the horizon. Neither youth remained awake to see the sun set, each asleep and dreaming of a wonderful summer's eve.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"The cycle never ceasing,

land safe and populace prosperous."

"You ready?"

Link hefted his heavy wooden practice sword, grinning at Sam. "'Course I'm ready." They were both wearing shorts in anticipation of the hot day and had taped up their hands to spar. The two boys faced off in a clearing next to the archery range that they had often practiced at. Just a short distance away Rebecka and Malon were lounging on the grassy hillside, eagerly waiting for the match to begin.

"Well then," Sam replied. "Let's see how much you've forgotten since our last duel." Slowly the two walked toward each other, stopping just before their swords touched. For a while they just stood there, each in their own respective fighting stances. Occasionally one of them would move to the side, trying to get a better attacking angle. However, the other would just move with him, carefully keeping the same distance between the pair. Suddenly Link leapt forward with a yell and the fight began.

The girls cheered enthusiastically as the duo moved up and down the clearing, blocking and attacking with near perfect timing and form. Malon was amazed at how long the fight continued, neither duelist slowing down or showing weakness. They sure were good. Without warning, Link dropped to the ground and spun around, aiming to take Sam's legs out from under him. Sam reacted quickly, jumping over Link's kick and bringing his sword down to Link's neck as he landed. At the same time, Link anticipated Sam's landing and brought his sword up to Sam's throat. Breathing heavily, they slowly moved apart, sheathing their practice swords as they did so.

"A draw," Sam said as soon as his breathing returned to normal. "I'm impressed. Maybe you do remember a bit." They spent the remainder of the morning sparring and working on fighting forms, only taking a few breaks to snag a drink of water and catch their breath. Before long they were both sweating profusely and taken off their shirts to just fight in their shorts. Removing their shirts won some admiring cat calls from the girls, which the boys were not entirely successful at ignoring.

When they weren't antagonizing the boys, Malon and Rebecka would sit next to each other and talk, often falling into bouts of giggling that had Sam and Link looking over to see what the commotion was. Link had a funny feeling that they were the object of the girls' laughter.

Eventually Rebecka called them both in for lunch, laying out a blanket on the grass. Link and Sam walked up slowly, toweling themselves off and replacing their shirts. "What, no burgers?" Link joked, casting an eye over the delicious looking food before he sat down.

"Watch it," Malon said, giving him a dirty look. "I can still take you out." Link just laughed at her and grabbed a sandwich, too hungry to argue. The meal was frequently interrupted by bouts of conversation and laughter, but even so, soon only crumbs remained. Together, they all lay back on the grass and sighed.

"That was good," Link managed to get out. Next to him, Malon burped in agreement. It was a beautiful day outside, little white clouds were drifting across the blue sky and the sun was stretching short shadows in the lush, green grass. Because of school, it had been months since they had last been able to come out to the archery range and spar. During the summer though, they would often go up once or twice a week.

Having picnics at the range was something that Sam and Link had started doing after their parents died. Originally, it had just been a way for the two of them to get some time alone and talk. Now, they would take the girls up as well and make a day out of it. When they were younger, their parents had enrolled them in some self-defense classes. As the years passed, that pursuit had led them to also take sword proficiency and archery lessons, which they quickly caught on to. In the years since the car crash, Sam and Link had came to the range so much that they were quickly becoming master swordsmen, and Link especially seemed to have a talent for archery.

The archery range itself was actually abandoned. It had been built for use by a nearby training facility, but the place had hit financial trouble and had closed down. Now Link and Sam could just show up and use it for free.

Link just about threw up when Sam rolled over and smacked him on the stomach.

"C'mon, let's go shoot some arrows before we head home."

Link groaned loudly before getting up and following Sam over to where they had left their gear. Malon watched him go, her mind buzzing.

"You like him, don't you?" Rebecka said from behind her. Malon started and rolled over to look her in the face, mouth already opening to deny feeling any such thing. For some reason though, she couldn't say it.

_What's going on?_ she asked herself fitfully, mouth still hanging open. _I don't like him, do I?_ She thought back to the night before; she had certainly felt something then. _Goddesses, I do like him._

"Don't worry," Rebecka said, smiling as though she could read her thoughts. "I promise I won't tell him."

Malon had to work some moisture back into her mouth before responding. "Th-Thank you," she replied, not knowing what else to say. _What does this mean?_ She was suddenly afraid. Afraid of Link finding out. Afraid of their friendship being ruined. But strangely, more than anything, she was afraid that he didn't feel the same for her.

_

* * *

_

Thunk!

Another arrow hit the center of the target, vibrating against the wood. Thirty yards away, Link smiled. He was having a good day.

"Dang!" Sam said, whistling through his teeth. "You've always been good, but this is something else!" Link just shrugged modestly and reached for another arrow.

"So Link, I've been meaning to ask you," Sam said as another arrow peppered the bulls-eye. "What are you planning on doing now that you're out of high school?"

Link paused in the act of grabbing another arrow and set down his bow. "I dunno," he replied. "I always thought that something would just happen."

"Like what?"

"Dunno. Something big." Link hefted his bow again and drew another arrow, hoping that the conversation was over. Sam looked over at his younger brother worriedly.

"Link…" he trailed off. _What am I supposed to say?_

"C'mon," Link said. "It's your turn to shoot."

* * *

Link was still wide awake as Sam pulled up to the house later that night. "Well it was sure nice of you gals to come along," Sam said as they all got out of the car. It was already dark outside, the sun having long since sunk below the trees surrounding their house.

"Yeah, that was fun," Rebecka replied. Malon nodded in agreement, her eyes half shut from exhaustion. "We'd better go," Rebecka added, laughing at Malon. "It's way past our bedtime." Rebecka kissed Sam goodbye and walked over to her car. Link and Malon looked at each other awkwardly while Rebecka started up the engine. Malon suddenly walked over and gave Link a quick hug before joining Rebecka in the car.

"Thanks again for taking Mal home," Sam said, closing the passenger door behind Malon. Rebecka just waved goodbye out the front windshield as she backed out of their driveway and drove off into the night.

"That was a fun day," Sam said, arms folded. He was still staring off at where Rebecka's car had disappeared behind a line of trees.

"Sure was," Link replied. He glanced over at Sam for a second, wondering what he was thinking. "Hey Sam, I never got to ask you…" Link paused, nervous. "I never got to ask you what you're gonna do now that I'm out of high school. You know, now that you don't have to take care of me." Sam looked at him silently for a second, and Link got even more nervous. What if Sam really did want to move out of town? The area had painful memories for the both of them. _No,_ Link told himself. _Malon's right, he'd ask me first._

"Goddesses," Sam finally said to himself under his breath. "Well, I guess this is as good a time as any." He turned toward the house. "C'mon, let's go inside."

The walk up to the door was torture for Link. _What's he want to tell me?_ he asked himself. _It must be bad if he's acting like this._ They walked straight through the TV room and into the kitchen.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a while," Sam said as he grabbed a soda out of the fridge. "But there either hasn't been time or I've been too nervous."

Link just stood there. _This is it. He's really gonna leave._ "Talk to me about what?"

"Goddesses," Sam breathed again. "Link…" He seemed to steel himself before continuing. "I want to ask Rebecka to marry me."

_That's it he's moving away and I'll never see him again and I'll never be able to…wait, what? _"You-You're not moving away?"

Sam drew his eyebrows together in confusion. "Why would I move?" Link laughed aloud. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest and he could finally breath again. "Does this mean you're ok with us getting married?" Sam asked.

Link laughed again. "Of course I'm alright with it! I'm thrilled for you! This is awesome news!"

Sam exhaled the breath that he had been holding. "Man, that's relieving. I dunno why, but I was worried that you would hate the idea." He took a long swig of soda, wishing that it was something a little stronger. "I want to ask her next week. On our two year anniversary."

"Sounds romantic to me," Link replied.

"I was hoping that you and Malon would be there," he continued. "You two would make the night really special."

"If that's what you want, we'll be there!" Link replied enthusiastically. He was more happy than he'd been in a long time. Not only was Sam not leaving, he was going to get married! _We're going to have a family again._

"Well, I'm off to bed," Sam said after he finished his drink. With a sigh he stood up and pushed in his chair. "What a day, huh?"

"Yeah," Link replied, a thousand thoughts were running rampant through his mind. "I think I'm gonna stay up a bit."

"Alright," Sam said. "G'night."

"'Night." After a few minutes of sitting in the kitchen, Link moved out to the bench swing that decorated the back porch. He would often go outside to think when he was confused or overwhelmed. The fresh air was relaxing.

As he began rocking the swing, all the questions that he had been suppressing suddenly burst into the forefront of his mind. _What am I really going to do after summer's over? What'll life be like after Sam and Rebecka get married? What's going on with me and Malon?_

Link soon found that he didn't have answers to any of these questions, and pulled out the green book that Malon had given him, thinking that he'd rather look through the pictures than continue to ponder an uncertain future.

It was in this way that the innocent boy fell asleep. His fatigue and confusion driving him to a restless night of slumber, an old legend and a beautiful princess permeating his dreams.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Youth still shall he take the journey,

the path he is set by the princess."

_Where am I?_ Link thought, looking around. He was standing in the center of a massive chamber. Tall, elaborately designed pillars decorated the hall, and Link quickly got dizzy trying to see where the pillars connected to the ceiling; the room seemed to stretch all the way to the heavens. Stained glass windows could be seen at the far end of the hall, grey light shining out from the gloom. The room seemed normal at first glance, but Link soon realized that there was something strangely unearthly about the place. First of all, the colors all seemed faded. Link realized, as he took a second look, that he couldn't see any color at all. Everything was a bleak shade of grey. Even the light coming through the windows seemed somber and dreary. For a second, Link panicked. _Am I going blind?_ He calmed quickly when he saw his jacket; the blue texture seemed alien from the world around it. His skin too, had not lost its fleshy hue.

He took another look around the room. The world seemed to swirl sickeningly around the edges of his vision as he did so. The vertigo it brought on made him feel as if there was somebody watching him, moving around the corners of his sight. No matter where he looked though, he couldn't find a single soul. _What is this place?_

He couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that he had somehow been here before. Something caught his eye and he began walking toward the far end of the chamber. He thought that he could see a sword sticking up out of the ground underneath the embellished glass windows, and right now, he really could go for a nice blade in his hands. _This place gives me the creeps_. His feet seemed to shatter the noiseless environment that he found himself in. Every step sounded too loud, ever rustle of his clothing made him cringe. Fear gripped him, fear of his hidden watchers, fear of the unknown.

It felt like it took forever to reach his goal. It was as if the room was stretching before him, trying somehow to remain out of his reach. Then, suddenly, he was at his destination, gazing upon a magnificent sword. It was set in a pedestal, the hilt up, and the pedestal was placed in the center of a dais. The raised area was at least twenty feet across, and around the edges were six engraved discs that contained foreign symbols imprinted upon them.

The symbols caught Link's eye, and for a moment he examined the discs. As he scrutinized each one, he began to feel comforted. It was a strange feeling, and one that he could not explain, but before he knew it, he felt almost at home. Link shook his head to clear his thoughts, and immediately wished he hadn't when the room spun dangerously around him. Slowly, very slowly he walked onto the dais and toward the monochrome sword. Even though he no longer felt as fearful, the blade drew him in; it was calling to him. Or was he calling to it? Strangely, he couldn't help but think that if the elaborate hilt could have shown color, it would have sported a stunning royal blue. _Now where did that thought come from?_ he wondered. He sure was having strange ideas lately. His hand inched forward, fingers open wide to receive the blade.

"Link?"

Link spun around, sword forgotten. On the stone platform behind him stood a woman. Her blonde hair and pale skin, accompanied by her pink blouse and light blue apron, provided a stark contrast to the grey world behind her. Link's mouth worked furiously, he hadn't even heard her approach.

"How did you get here?" the woman asked. Her voice seemed more than a little frantic, and Link could tell that she was upset. Finally, he managed to work some moisture back into his mouth.

"Umm…I don't—" he began, but was cut off.

"Has Ganon truly weakened the seal that far?" the woman interrupted. She was speaking to herself now more than to Link. Her eyes closed in what appeared to be deep thought for a moment before re-opening and scrutinizing the blonde haired boy before her. Link couldn't tell what her opinion was of what she saw.

"Wait, did you say Gan—" Link began to ask, thinking that he must have misheard her.

"Link, you must listen to me. We don't have much time." She sounded urgent. Link wondered what was going on. How did he get here? How did she even know his name?

Suddenly the ground began to rumble. A deep, booming roar filled the chamber, coming from everywhere at once. The woman's eyes widened in alarm and she quickly closed the space between them.

"Link listen!" she repeated, more urgently than before. "You need to flee this place! The only hope we have left is for you to free me!" The rumbling was growing fiercer. "Take this," she said, pushing something into Link's hand. "Now go!"

Link was about to ask just how he was supposed to do that when his vision began to blur as if he was falling into a deep sleep. The rumbling quieted and he felt himself drifting away.

"Link…please…free me…" The woman's voice was the last thing he heard before he faded away.

* * *

Link woke with a gasp, sitting up so fast that it took a few moments to catch his breath. Looking around, he realized that he was back at his own house, the porch swing still swaying from his violent arousal. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and the morning birds were beginning their cheerful songs to welcome the coming day. A sudden breeze made Link shiver. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and he was still trembling from the dream he had woken from.

_Was it really just a dream?_ he asked himself fitfully. After a few minutes his breathing returned to normal and he swung his legs off the bench. As he did so, something heavy fell off of his legs and onto the ground; it was the book. _So it really was a dream,_ he thought to himself as he reached down to grab the text. He was surprised however, to realize that he already held something in his hand.

His breath caught. Trembling, he slowly opened his hand to reveal an instrument colored sky blue and adorned with intricate silver and gold embellishment that glittered fantastically in the morning light. Link had never seen something crafted so delicately—so beautifully.

His mind immediately flashed back to the dream, back to the woman he'd almost recognized, back to the object she'd thrown in his hands before he'd faded away.

_An ocarina._

* * *

"How long ago did you have this dream?" Malon asked. After a few fitful nights of sleeplessness, Link had finally broken down and had decided to tell Malon about the disconcerting dream. He was infinitely grateful that she hadn't laughed at him; he felt stupid enough already.

"It was four nights ago, right after the picnic," Link replied. He and Malon were sitting up in Malon's hayloft to escape the frenzy of farm animals below. At least the hayloft had a semblance of quiet. Link often rode over to Malon's farm to help her out with some of her chores, but today he just wanted to talk. "Every night since then I've heard her voice pleading with me to set her free." He left some things out, like how he'd heard the woman use the word "Ganon," and how he'd woken up with her ocarina in his hands. He didn't want Malon to think that he was completely crazy. _Oh no, I wouldn't want that,_ he thought sarcastically to himself.

On the other hand, she kept looking at him worriedly, like he was going to collapse at any moment. After four nights without sleep, he supposed it was a safe bet.

"How?" Malon interjected, making Link lose his train of thought.

"What?"

"How are you supposed to free her?"

"Huh?" Link said, confused.

"Well, either I can assume that you're stark raving mad and I call the men in white coats…or I can believe you and try to help you free her." Link was stunned. Trust Malon to get right to the heart of the problem.

"She didn't—she didn't say how," Link mumbled. He still didn't mention the ocarina, although he did have a lingering suspicion that it was the key to the mysterious woman's salvation.

"Then I wouldn't worry too much about it," Malon said after a moment of thought. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Link just nodded.

_Should I tell her about the ocarina?_

"I need to go feed the goats," Malon said before he had a chance to say anything. "Be right back." She swung her legs off the side of the hayloft and dropped down to the ground, leaving Link alone with his thoughts. A few quite minutes passed before Link slowly reached into his front pocket and pulled out the flawless instrument that seemed to be the cause of all his mental strife. As he had done so many times in the last few nights, he just stared at it, engrossed in its elegance. Beauty defined its every curve, but there was something else there too, something deeper. If only he knew what to do.

The instrument began to hum quietly in his hands. His eyes lost focus and he could see the mysterious woman standing before him, as if in a dream. He knew what he had to do. Bringing the flute to his lips, he took a deep breath and blew. Link's fingers seemed to move of their own accord, covering and uncovering holes without thought. A sound arose that seemed to Link to bring the world alive for the very first time. The melody swirled around him, piercing his foggy mind and nearly driving him to tears by the mere beauty in it. Colors blended together with the notes: blue, green, red. The song created a masterpiece beyond any that Link had ever seen, colors sweeping together to paint a mural that boasted the beauty of life itself.

Link's mind spun. Along with the appearance of the colors was the sudden fluctuation of his emotions. Hate, joy, sadness, love; they all tore rampant through his body, tugging at his very soul. He wanted to scream, he wanted to laugh, but he couldn't move his lips from the ocarina. He couldn't stop the song.

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped, and Link slumped to the ground, physically and emotionally exhausted. _What was that?_ he asked himself. Slowly he began to lose consciousness, his fatigued body needed rest. Strangely though, it wasn't darkness that enveloped his blurring vision, it was light.

* * *

"Link, thank you."

Link could see the woman in front of him, wearing the same royal garb that he had seen her in the night in the temple. This time though, he didn't have any idea what the place they were in was. Everywhere he looked there was the same white expanse. In fact, the woman in front of him was the only thing he really could see. After glancing around, he returned his gaze to the lady. She seemed misty, almost as if she wasn't really there.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "But I will not be able to appear to you for some time. It is not safe, for either of us."

"Why?" Link asked, confused. The questions that he'd been harboring sprung forward. "Who are you? Who are you running from? What's going on?"

"Everything will be explained in good time," she replied. "Time…" she continued. "As always it is both my salvation and my curse." For a moment her eyes lost focus, but she quickly recovered. "Link, time is short. I bring you a warning."

"A warning?" Link replied. The woman nodded.

"A darkness—a shadow approaches. Both you and your brother are in great danger. You must go to him."

"How do you know about Sam?" Link exclaimed. _Has she been watching me?_

"Link, I've been watching you since birth. Our fates have always been intertwined." Link's eyes widened. Could she read his mind? The woman merely smiled. "I wish that I could tell you everything, but we are out of time." Her eyes spoke to him, telling him of sorrow and guilt, of compassion and despair. Link could tell that it was with a heavy heart that she set her hand on his shoulder.

"Go!" She said the last word with such clarity and power that it thrust Link back into consciousness.

He gasped as he woke, hearing an echoing gasp from somewhere beside him. "Link? Link are you alright?" Malon asked anxiously, running over to his side. "I heard a—a song…" her voice got airy, the music had obviously affected her too. Within seconds though, she was back to normal. "But when I got up here, you were unconscious and I couldn't wake you." She put a hand on his forehead. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine. I—" Suddenly he shot up, discreetly shoving the ocarina back into his pocket. "I have to go!" He vaulted off of the hayloft and sprinted over to his bike.

"Link, what's going on?" He could hear Malon yelling from behind him, but he didn't have time to stop. His heart was beating more and more rapidly, and he broke out in cold sweat as fear began to grip him. He raced home as quickly as he could.

"Sam," he whispered. "hang on…"


	5. Chapter 4

Wow, sorry about it taking THREE WEEKS for me to upload a new chapter. My life just kinda exploded in my face recently. Not really in a bad way, but I had a lot happen at once: semester finals, I got elected class VP, and soccer season. Plus, this was an unreasonablly hard chapter to write. I dunno why, but it was.

I hope to go back to getting done with a chapter a week! Thanks for reading! (plz R&R *insert pathetically sad face here*)

* * *

Chapter 4

"Demon's wrath shall he witness"

Back at the house, Sam was busy preparing dinner for the special night. "This is it!" he kept repeating aloud to the empty house. "Tonight. I'm gonna ask her tonight!" He had decided in advance to cook a special pasta dish that his dad used to boast about. It was his father's favorite dish, and Sam could well remember that it seemed like his dad would make it every time he cooked dinner.

Sam sighed. He had always been particularly close to his father, and it had taken him a long time to get over the loss of his childhood role model. But whenever he cooked his dad's favorite dish, the sounds of the noodles sizzling on the frying pan and the sauce bubbling to perfection, the feeling of hot steam on his face and hands, and the smells of tomato, basil, and alfredo filled the kitchen, it was almost as if his father was still there, cooking away with the radio on and a smile on his face.

Grabbing a pot, Sam thought back to all the times when he and his father would go outside and play catch for a few hours before collapsing on the grass and telling each other stories. Or the times when his dad would surprise him by picking him up after school and taking him to dinner and a movie. Many of Sam's friends had expressed envy toward his relationship with his dad. Now, all he got was pity. Sam hated to dwell on that though, and whenever he began feeling bad for himself, he would think of all the times that he was with his father, and almost instantly he would begin to appreciate life a bit more.

He added noodles to the already boiling water and walked over to the cupboard to collect some more ingredients. He smiled thoughtfully, he would always feel close to his father when he made this pasta dish, but he never could figure how to make it as well as his dad did. Sam stopped in the act of searching for more spices and glanced up to an old picture on the wall. The photo was of Sam and Link with their parents at the lake. Sam's eyes watered the tiniest bit as he looked at it; this was most likely the last picture he owned of their entire family before the accident. They all looked so happy.

Sam brought his hand up to wipe away the single, lonely tear that was trekking its way across his cheek. _I wish you could have met her, Dad,_ Sam thought to himself. _You guys would've really liked each other._ When he was little, every time that he thought about getting married, he would imagine proposing to his special girl in front of his family. His mother would be shedding tears of joy, Link would be laughing and applauding, and his dad…his dad would just be smiling, giving him silent encouragement. With a sigh, Sam grabbed the sought after spices and went about preparing the sauce for the big dinner.

_Soon I'll have a family again._ Sam's spirit lifted at the thought, and on his face bloomed a smile that came straight from the heart. Somehow, he didn't think that he'd be alone at all tonight. His dad would be there, giving him the silent encouragement that he'd always imagined.

* * *

Less than a stone's throw away, peering out from under the brown, withering underbrush, were eyes. Malicious, searching eyes that pierced through the thin film of leaves covering the bearer. Red eyes that sought out their prey, eyes that lavished the hunt, eyes that lived for the kill. These were the eyes of a true hunter, a carnivore in his own right, a primal killer. It was not game, nor hunger that drove this monster, this fiend. It was need, a desperate, longing ache to end life. Without death, these eyes could not live. The unblinking eyes adorned shadows only, a figure of shadow.

As if by some trick of the light, the ruby red of the eyes faded, and from the blank stare arose a dull, dirty blue, as in a polluted pond. The shadow morphed as well, stretching and condensing in such a way as to live up to its nature as a shadow. With as much suddenness as it had begun, the disturbance ceased. The bloodlust never waned; the hate never waned.

* * *

First arid grassland, then tall evergreens, then vibrant houses sped by as Link raced home. Against what he raced, he did not know. He knew only that it made his blood run cold by its very existence, and that the outcome of this race would determine both his, and his brother's, fates. Sweat poured down his face, mixing with tears brought on by the harsh wind.

Feet pumped pedals, heart pumped blood. Yet with every yard that Link traversed, safety seemed to slip that much further away. The cheery clouds and smiling sun jeered ironically at him, mocking his hopeless plight. Their lighthearted demeanor hardly betrayed Link's deep-set anxiety. _Sam!_

* * *

Dancing, Same poured more spice over the simmering pasta sauce and began melodramatically stirring it. He was in such high spirits that he brought the ladle up to his face, spraying his cheeks with white alfredo sauce, and began singing along to the latest pop song being played over the radio. With his makeshift microphone, Sam strutted around the kitchen, dancing in time to the upbeat music and banging his head during the guitar solos. He dramatically finished the routine by sliding across the tile floor on his socks and dropping to his knees after the last note of the song.

It had been years since Sam had felt so utterly happy. In fact, the last time he had felt like this was right after he had gotten back from his first date with Rebecka. He still cringed when he thought about their first few months together; he had been so awkward around her.

Their relationship had started when a buddy of Sam's from work set him up on a blind date with Rebecka. Even though he hadn't even asked Sam first, Sam felt obligated to go, and agreed reluctantly to one date. The entire day beforehand though, he had racked his brain for any excuse that would get him out of going. Sam just didn't feel ready to pursue a relationship so soon after the passing of his parents. But, in the end, he couldn't come up with any way to get out of it, and resolved to just suppress his feelings for one night.

Sam still laughed to think that he hadn't even wanted to go on the date that would introduce him to the love of his life; his shining star.

Sam had come back from the event in a daze. Giddily, he ran around the house singing, then went outside and yelled for a bit. Link, watching, had laughed so hard that he gave himself a nose-bleed, and had opted to shove some toilet paper up his nose rather than take the time off of watching Sam to fix the problem. At about midnight, Sam calmed down a bit, but he still couldn't get his mind off of the wonderful, beautiful girl that he had just met. In fact, he hadn't even waited until the next day to call her back, picking up the phone right then and there to ask her out on a second date. Somehow, she agreed, and Sam was so relieved that he had accidentally hung up on her.

Things continued in that way for a while, Sam making a complete love-struck fool of himself, and Rebecka laughing at him whenever he did so. No matter where they were, Sam always seemed to do something embarrassing or clumsy around Rebecka. On their third date, he accidentally spilled water all over her dress; on their seventh date, he unwittingly drove off in the car without waiting for her to get in; on their eighth date, he tripped her into a mud puddle at the park; on their tenth date, he closed the car door on her skirt. Sam grimaced, yet somehow Rebecka had stayed with him, and now—now they might be getting married.

Sam's heart throbbed in his chest; he loved Rebecka, he loved her more than he ever thought that he could love anybody. Every time he was around her, his heart would swell, his stomach would melt, his eyes would cloud over, and all he would be able to think about was the dream of living with her forever. Rebecka had quickly filled the hole in Sam's heart that had been left by his parent's deaths.

He wasn't a religious man, but he had recently taken to lighting the three ceremonial candles in his room at night and praying to the goddesses. He prayed for Rebecka, for her safety, for their relationship; he prayed for Link, for him to have courage, and for him to have strength of heart; he prayed last of all for himself, for wisdom in raising Link, and for guidance in his relationship with Rebecka. He never could decide if the goddesses actually heard his prayers, but he always felt better after blowing out the candles.

The kitchen timer went off, bringing Sam back to his senses. With a curse, he bounded over to the stove and turned down the heat. Sam checked the noodles, worried that he might have overcooked them, but everything seemed to be fine. He wanted everything to be perfect for tonight, and he didn't have time to re-boil the noodles. Carefully, he moved the pot over to the sink and began draining the water. Suddenly, there came three loud knocks on the front door.

"Just a minute!" Sam called out, hurriedly shaking the noodles one last time and setting them back on the stove. "I'm coming!" Wiping his hands on his apron, Sam walked into the foyer and peeked through the window next to the door. His face brightened when he saw who was standing outside.

"Link!" Sam exclaimed, excited to see his little brother. "Did I lock you out? Sorry." He didn't wait for a reply, instead walking back into the kitchen to finish the meal. "Come on, you can help me set the table. The pasta's almost done." Link silently followed Sam, dull blue eyes darting around the room as he did so. "Weren't you gonna be at Malon's?" Sam continued. "Why didn't she come back with you?" Link didn't reply, he just stood in the middle of the kitchen, silently watching Sam cut vegetables.

Sam set down the large knife and strode over to the fridge, searching for some more onion. He seemed though, to realize that something was wrong with his usually talkative brother, and stopped what he was doing. "Hey bud, are you alrigh—"

Suddenly, before he could even finish his sentence, a fierce pain tore at the left side of his chest, starting from his back and piercing through to his heart. Gasping, he looked down. Out of his apron protruded the tip of kitchen knife that he had just finished using, and it was coated in blood. His blood. The thick, dark red liquid began seeping out of the fatal wound, soaking Sam's shirt and apron in the smell of death. Vainly fighting for air, Sam collapsed against the refrigerator, knocking food and drink onto the usually clean floor. He looked up weakly, pale, bloodshot eyes searching out his aggressor. There he stood, with a smile on his malicious face and blood splattered on his hands. It was Link.

Except, this was Link as Sam had never seen him before. His face seemed gaunt and haunting, and his dark smile didn't touch his dirty blue eyes. With a toothy grin that sent chills up Sam's spine, Link licked the tell-tale blood off his fingertips, as if it were no different than licking off stray pasta sauce.

Sam worked his mouth, tried to ask Link "why," but his body wouldn't respond the way it should. In agony, Sam slid down the refrigerator onto the floor, knocking more food onto the floor as he did so. Never before in his life had Sam felt pain so terrible. He knew that he was dying, but the pain wasn't from torn flesh or bone, it was from a torn heart, it was from Link. Tears came unbidden to Sam's dulling eyes, and the salty water spilt down his cheeks with as much ferocity as the blood on his chest. Only, the pain was greater.

Sam's body had long since lost feeling, but the pain of betrayal continued. Mouth hanging open, his hands tore at his bleeding chest, trying to rip the pain inducing memories from his screaming heart. The pain…oh, the pain. It threatened to overwhelm him, threatened to drive him mad. He knew that death was fast approaching, he could feel its creeping chill, yet he welcomed it. He bade it hasten its arrival even, anything to stop the hurt. _Why? Why, Link?_ In Sam's final moments, his soul was shattered, his heart and mind tortured beyond tolerance.

As his mind dimmed and his emotions began to slip away, Sam realized hazily that it was still only love that he held for his brother, only love for the man who had ended his life. His life didn't flash before his eyes, rather it flashed through his heart, giving peace to his soul.

"Sam! NOO!"


	6. Chapter 5

This is the end to part 1! Hope you guys enjoyed the amazingly morose chapters of intense angst and depressing anguish! Woohoo!

Don't worry, things look up starting in the next chapter! Part two is gonna be a doozie (yes, that is a word...one of the best ones ever), its when the plot really takes off. Keep in touch and PLEASE keep reviewing! Reviews are the most helpful and appreciatory things that readers can do!

FYI-I'll continue part two in THIS story. I will NOT be beginning a new story for the next chapters. Also, chapter 6 might be a long one, so it may take a bit more than a week to write. Just a heads up!

* * *

Chapter 5

"Fraternity dear will be threatened

to incite his ceaseless search"

Link flew past the high school; racing home, racing himself, racing the unknown. His neighborhood blurred past, morphing into his unpaved road. Dust kicked up by passing cars caught on his sweat soaked face, coating his cheeks. In his chest, Link's heart was beating louder than ever. He thought that he could hear it over the crunch of his tires pushing through the gravel. A low hanging tree branch swatted him in the face, making a long cut under his right eye, but he ignored it and sped on; he was out of time.

In the distance, Link could see his house. He had spent the last 3 years of his life living in that house, but strangely, it didn't seem like home. Now it was alien to him. _The door's open_, he realized as he drew closer. _Sam never leaves the door open._ Tears stimulated by the biting sting of the wind were making wet tracks through the heavy layer of dirt on Link's cheeks. His legs burned, but he was almost there. Almost—

Panting, Link jumped wildly off of his rolling bicycle as he reached the front lawn. "Sam!" he yelled as he sprinted through the front door. "Sam, where are you?!" He wasn't in the foyer; he wasn't in the living room. As Link turned toward Sam's bedroom however, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. "Sam!" he yelled as he jumped into the kitchen. His heart caught in his mouth.

There, lying on the tile floor in front of the refrigerator, was Sam. Out from his blood-soaked apron protruded the tip of a kitchen knife, and strewn about the floor around him were upended containers and broken jars from the fridge. Link couldn't believe his eyes. His breath caught violently in his throat and he sank to his knees in a daze. In those few moments, Link could see his life with Sam pass before his eyes; all the times that they had shared together, all the hardships, all the pain, all the accomplishments, all the joy.

"Sam!" Link screamed in anguish. "NO!" His brother, his role-model, his only real family left, was lying motionless in a pool of blood. _How could this happen?_ _How could the goddesses let this happen?_

Sobbing in pain and gasping for breath, Link slowly crawled over to his brother's body. With a trembling hand, Link reached out and felt for the beating of Sam's heart. There was nothing, only the cold chill of death.

A miserable keening wail built up in Link's heart and escaped through his lips. Uncontrollable tremors ripped through his body, and he buried his face and hands in Sam's blood coated apron, plastering the warm residue of life across his cheek. _No…Sam…No…_he kept repeating to himself. He couldn't think straight, sorrow and pain overflowing his mind. It seemed like he lay there for an eternity, sobbing into his brother's chest. His heart ached, and Link knew that, in some ways, it would never stop aching. _How could this happen?_ Suddenly, a light turned on inside of Link's mind. _The knife._ With a start, Link realized that his brother had been stabbed. Sam had been murdered. Anger now joined Link's lonely pain.

A shrill laugh pierced the air. The noise, so high-pitched that it couldn't have originated from any human mouth, caused Link to shiver and clutch even tighter to Sam's apron. Recovering, Link shot up and spun around to find the source of the foreign noise, sweat and tears flying away from his body to be caught in the sunlight. It was that same sunlight that made an eerie flickering outline around the imposter.

Link's eyes adjusted to the bright light slowly, and as he began to make out the figure before him, his breath caught. Mind reeling, Link backed against the cupboard, resisting the strong urge to retch upon the floor. _How is this possible?_ Link asked himself. For there, standing before him, laughing harshly, mouth open and eyes wide in fervent ecstasy, was himself. Every curve, every hair, was disturbingly familiar. It was as if he wasn't in his body any more, as if it wasn't his own.

The thing's mirth seemed to die out as its laughter quieted to a chuckle, then ceased. "So…it's you. You're the one!" Link was speechless. His frantic brain was still trying to process this new phenomenon. What was this thing, this monster? He swept his gaze over himself. _It looks exactly like me!_ _Goddesses, what's going on?!_

"You've caused us…quite some trouble," the copy continued. It's high-pitched voice matched it's shrill laugh, and it spoke in bursts, as if it had to force the words into existence. The chopped up method of speech made it seem that much more inhuman. "But it seems as if we've…already begun settling that…particular debt." The figure swept it's dull gaze over Sam's lifeless body. Link's eyes widened in tormented understanding; so this was his brother's killer.

"If only you could have seen…the look in his eyes…when he realized that he had been killed…by his own brother. It was…" the copy paused to tauntingly like his lips. "Delicious."

Deep inside of Link, something snapped. Within a moment, all of his grief and anguish was replaced with a infinite burning rage; he wanted to scream, he wanted to kill the monster in front of him, he wanted to tear it's flesh, his own flesh. Without thinking, Link sprang up and grabbed a knife out of the knife block on the counter behind him.

"Now what…are you planning to do with that?" The monster taunted him, mocking his pain.

Screaming, Link lunged forward, knife searching for the heart of his brother's killer, his heart. The copy didn't even try to avoid Link's thrust as the blade drew nearer and nearer to its heart. Link cringed as the knife buried itself in the thing's chest. It looked just like his own chest, like he was attacking himself.

Something was wrong, the figure's face was contorted in silent laughter. In confusion Link looked down, and gasped. The knife hadn't pierced the monster's chest at all; it had gone right through it. The copy's body swirled sickeningly around the knife like a dark fog, unscathed by the knife's sharp edge.

It began to laugh wildly, slowly bringing its too familiar face even closer to Link's. "Fool! You cannot pierce the shadow!" Without any warning, it brought its fist into Link's stomach, inhuman strength sending him flying across the room and into an oak cupboard. For a moment, Link just lay where he had fallen, trying to catch his breath through the pain. Suddenly a hand harshly snagged a chunk of his hair and lifted Link's entire body off of the floor, feet dangling a foot above the tile.

"So…weak," the shadow muttered to itself, as if it had completely forgotten of Link. "How can something this weak…be such a threat?"

"Shut up!" Link yelled furiously. His hands desperately trying to clasp the smoky hand tangled in his hair. The copy just stared at him, hungrily.

"Such a shame…that I'm not allowed…to kill you…yet. Your screams…would make me feel so…alive." It's eyes rolled into the back of its head at the thought, tongue darting out to lick its all too familiar lips. "Just like…your brother's."

"What the hell are you?!" Link spat, his blood boiling. A toothy smile bloomed on the monster's face, but the smirk never touched its eyes.

"Fool!" it screamed loudly, then lowered its voice to almost a whisper. "I'm you." Chills ran down Link's spine, making him shiver violently.

_What is this thing?_ With a laugh the copy drove its knee into Link's groin and dropped him onto the floor. Spots swam in front of Link's vision, but he forced his arms underneath himself. Just as he began to push himself back up though, somebody knocked on the front door.

"Link?" Malon's voice rang hesitantly through the house. "Link are you here? You rushed off and I got worried—"

"Malon, run!" Link screamed. "Get out of here!" _She can't be here! _Link thought frantically. _Why is she here?_

"Link?" Malon yelled worriedly, taking a few nervous steps into the house. "Are you alright?" The pained undertone to Link's voice made her hesitate.

The hysterical, shrill laughter began again. "Well…who's this?" is asked mockingly.

"You stay away from her!" Link shouted, swinging a fist at the thing's legs. Just as before, his arm passed right through, causing Link to fall back onto the ground.

"Stay away?" It laughed. "No…she'll make a fine prize…for my master."

Link's heart skipped a beat. "Malon, run! Get out of here—" Suddenly, a foot connected with the side of Link's face, sending him through the kitchen door and into the foyer where Malon was still uneasily lingering.

"Goddesses! Link!" Malon screamed, running over to him.

"Malon…" Link breathed. His mind was hazy. "Run…" Malon screamed as a hand grasped her hair and pulled her up from where she had been crouched near Link's collapsed body.

"Hey baby," the figure said shrilly as he turned Malon's head toward his own. Malon gasped, stifling her scream. "No? Oh well…playtime's over." Laughing that horrible manic laugh, the figure seemed to blur, growing darker and darker around the edges. It grew darker and darker and darker. So dark, that Link felt as if it were absorbing the light around it, soaking in all the warmth in the room. Finally, laughing shrilly all the while, it formed itself into the shape of a man, but it was so black that it engaged the mind as nothing more than a deep, solid shadow. It wore a midnight black tunic, and upon its head was a matching hat that trailed down past his shoulders.

And its eyes—oh its eyes. They shone out clear, vivid blood red, staring out from the shadow's face. The eyes provoked paralyzing fear into any who looked upon them, for they were not merely red eyes, but deep, deep pools of morbid agony and depression that seemed to reach into the depths of hell itself.

Turning on its heel, the shadow fiend began striding toward the open door, Malon's squirming body still in tow; her eyes were wide, but she was still in too much shock to scream.

"Stop…" Link panted, eyes going in and out of focus. "Leave her alone…" In desperation, Link began to work his unresponsive body across the floor toward Malon. He was on the verge of losing consciousness, and his legs seemed to have already slipped into the void.

"You just don't know when to quit…do you?" The shadow laughed again as its boot drove into Link's struggling body, sending him tumbling violently along the floor and into the far wall. With a crack, his head connected with unrepentant wood.

"Link!" he could hear Malon scream, her voice returned, as his mind darkened. Grief relentlessly pursued him into unconsciousness, tearing at his heart and grinding at his soul even inside the void. _I have lost them. _It was less than a thought, it was less than an idea; it was a feeling. A feeling of deep, unfathomable regret and loss. A feeling of something Link had only felt once before, when he had last lost two of his loved ones. _I have lost them._


	7. Part 2, Chapter 6

Part 2

The Goddesses

* * *

Chapter 6

"Hero no longer with blade by his side,

May ageless quest give him truth."

Dreams. They are life's one universal truth. Within dreams can be found joy, peace, or happiness. Dreams can imbue you with rage, fear, or sorrow. They provide rest for the weary, and solitude for the oppressed. It connects all living things, for even the richest man might dream with the most impoverished man as they lay their heads down to sleep. It matters little the wishes of the dreamer, those who embark on that heavenly journey. Dreams are a gift from Nayru herself; it is through her beautiful, omnipotent wisdom that humankind can be healed in spirit. Healed in dreams.

One can even discover contentment in the darkest of times within Nayru's dream. For while the world of the flesh is barred to those who've passed beyond this life, the world of dreams is a safe haven, a refuge. Love, the strongest and deepest of human emotions, lights the path for the forgotten, reuniting the lost and bringing hope to the broken.

* * *

Link awoke, sitting up with a gasp. Groaning, he put a hand to his head; a painful throbbing tore at his brain. It felt like his skull was broken. His fingers traveled around his hairline, curiously feeling at coarse cloth. Someone had wrapped a bandage around his head. His finger's returned from their journey with a dark red film. _Have I been bleeding?_

Slowly, he turned his head and surveyed his surroundings. He had certainly never been here before. The blanket he found himself on was like an island, set apart from the world, yet strangely, the dense trees and lush green grass seemed comfortingly familiar. Around him was a forest, beautiful to all his senses. The sun sifted through the top layer of branches, casting a lustrous yellow-green hue upon the clearing he was laying in. Sounds of musical birds filled the air in a symphonic arrangement of life. With every breath, Link imagined that he could taste the intoxicating aroma of the sap clinging to tree bark, its sweet smell casting a soothing atmosphere over the woods. Underneath the blanket he found himself on top of was tall, undisturbed grass that provided a luxurious mattress for him to lie upon.

Looking around more closely, he saw that at one end of the clearing there stood a colossal tree. Its long sturdy branches hugged the tree line, protecting the clearing from the invading underbrush. Undeniably, it was the guardian of the forest. Strangely enough, the longer that Link stared at the enormous trunk, the more he began to imagine a face taking shape from the texture of the bark.

Tearing his eyes away from the strange sight, Link gazed around the rest of the clearing. The far side opened up into a quiet stream. The sparkling clear water rushed silently over polished rocks, creating no more sound than that of an eagle alighting on a blossoming branch.

Curious, Link started to push himself off of the ground. His head throbbed painfully, and Link slowed down his pace, taking his time getting to his feet. Slowly, he began the trek across the grassy meadow. His pace matched that of a turtle; inch by inch, foot by foot Link made his way to the stream. Thankfully, Link found that the more he walked, the less his head hurt. By the time he had reached the brook, he felt somewhat well again. With a sigh, Link leaned up against a nearby tree, soaking in the sights and sounds of the flowing water before him. The quiet rush of the stream slowly carried his headache away, and with it, his suspicions about where he found himself. Without a doubt, it was one of the most beautiful and nostalgic things Link had ever seen. _I wish Malon could see this._

As if spurred on by that single thought, all of the memories that he had been unconsciously suppressing rushed back. His brother. The monster. Malon.

Link fell to his knees; it was too much to bear. Grasping at his hair, he let a keening wail escape his lips. _Malon!_ he moaned silently. _How can this be real?_ Sobbing, he knelt on the grass for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, he came to himself. _Malon, I promise I will find a way to get you back._ The tears were tempered with concern, and the anger replaced with resolve. Standing up, he searched the sky, hoping to find some sort of building that he could make his way toward. He didn't see anything other than more trees. _Where am I?_ He felt again at the bandage around his head._ And who brought me here?_

"Although time may pass and even the names of whole countries may change, the magic imbued within the forest remains unscathed." Link jumped, the woman's voice was coming from right above him. Squinting, Link gazed into the foliage above. On the branch above his head, sitting against the tree, was the outline of a woman. Her black cape swirled in a gust of wind, blending into the billowing leaves behind her. Dressed in all dark colors, she hid within the shadow of the tree trunk, making it hard to get a good look at her.

"The stream seems to wash away your troubles, does it not?" she said. Silent as the night that she would so easily blend into, the figure jumped down beside Link, cloak fluttering behind her. Now that she was out of the shadow, Link could see what she really looked like. Her dark clothes were all tight to her refined body, and seemed well developed for quick movement. Every aspect of her posture was spring loaded, ready to explode in a heartbeat. On the backside of her hands she wore tough leather guards, and her fingers, wrists, and feet were wrapped in white cloth. The long black cloak continued over her head in a hood while wisps of long dark hair covered her brow, and a dark blue veil concealed the bottom half of her face. Her striking blue eyes matched Link's own, and she seemed to be looking through him at what lay underneath. It was as if she could see his troubled soul.

"I am sorry," was all she said. Link's heart throbbed painfully, but he had run out of tears to cry.

"Who are you?" Link asked finally. He was tired of surprises.

"I am Sheik, last of the ancient tribe of Sheika, and guardian of Princess Zelda," she replied. Link was caught completely off guard, his mouth worked, but it took a few seconds for him to manage any words.

"Princess Zelda?" he murmured, not believing his ears. "As in The Legend of Zelda?" His mind was reeling. _What's going on?_

Sheik lowered her voice and took a step closer. "Link, it's no legend. The Princess, the Hero of Time, and the Demon. The Cycle of Eternity is real."

Link tried to laugh, but couldn't. The last few days seemed so unreal; he didn't know what to believe any more. "How…" he managed after a moment, unsure of what to say.

"The Cycle has been dormant for many years," her voice took on a saddened tone. "Much has changed." For a moment she was silent, staring quietly off at something that only she could see. Link was glad for the respite; he wasn't sure what to make of all this.

"Why should I believe you?" he asked after a minute. What she was saying seemed so farfetched; it was impossible.

"Why shouldn't you?" Sheik replied. "The sands of time are harsh; truth ages and ages until it is no more than a myth, which, in turn, becomes mere legend, surviving on the wind's breath." She paused, pensive. "But every legend was once truth."

Link was stunned. "Then that…creature…" Link finally asked, not sure how to describe the monster that had taken on his guise and killed his brother.

Sheik's face darkened. "What you saw is an abomination, one of Ganon's strongest minion's," she explained. "It was a man in what was once known as ancient Hyrule. He became mesmerized by dark magic and tried to establish dominion of the Sacred Realm. In anger, the Goddesses sealed away both him and his evil power to the realm of twilight. Now he is merely a shadow, existing only in that nothingness between light and dark, between day and night." Sheik scowled. "That is why you could not pierce him. No normal blade can touch that expanse."

Link closed his eyes, taking a minute to go over all this new information. _I don't have any other choice than to believe her_, he realized. After a moment, he voiced another question. "Where are we? How did I get here?"

Sheik's eyes grew sad. "After she realized that the shadow beast had been set loose, the Princess sent me to guard you and keep you safe…but I was too late. By the time I found you, you were almost dead. I used my power to heal most of your wounds and bring you back here." Sheik looked around blissfully. "This used to be the home of the forest temple, a place so beautiful that you could feel the magic flowing through the land." She took a deep breath, inhaling the rich air. "In a way I guess it still is." After a moment she added, "You will be safe here."

Slowly, Link shook his head. "No, I need to go after Malon."

Sheik's eyebrows rose into her dark hair. "You're willing to forfeit the safety of this grove and confront the shadow in order to save her?" she asked. "He's almost killed you once."

"I don't care," Link said obstinately. "I don't care if the legend is true; I don't care if I can't win; I don't care if he kills me!" He was yelling now. "Malon is the only family I have left. If I lose her…I'll lose myself." He took a deep breath. "I'll do anything to save her."

A sly smile slowly worked its way onto the mysterious woman's face. "There is a sword—" she began.

"But you said—"

Sheik shook her head. "This is no ordinary sword. It is imbued with the powers of the Goddesses themselves, forged by Din at the creation of the world. Only it can pierce the twilight." Something tugged at Link's memory, but he brushed it aside.

"Where can I find it?" Link asked.

"The sword's sacred resting place is the Temple of Time. I can tell you how to get there, but you must be sure that you can face what lies ahead," Sheik's voice was solemn. Link opened his mouth to reply, but Sheik continued over him. "Before you answer, you must understand that this journey may not be what you expect, and you will not find yourself returning the same person as you leave," Sheik intoned forebodingly. "If you return at all."

"I don't care what happens to me," Link replied. "I promised myself that I would get Malon back. I will save her."

The quiet stream gushed past, and the birds chirped anew. "Fraternity dear…" Sheik whispered to herself, smiling through her veil.

* * *

Link grunted as he slid across yet another wet rock. The Sheika's directions had been simple, follow the stream, but Link was beginning to wonder if he had misunderstood. He had been walking for hours now, and hadn't found any signs of people at all, let alone any temple. He sighed, _there's nowhere to go but forward._

His thoughts drifted back to what he'd learned in the forest temple. _The legend is real_, he thought, amazed. How could that be true? _How could it not be true?_ he asked himself. _After that dream, after what happened to Sam; how could it not be true?_ Link shook his head; he didn't know what to think anymore. All he knew was that he needed to save Malon.

_Malon._ An icy fist clenched his heart. He blamed himself for what happened. If only he had been a little quicker, or stronger, or braver he could have saved her. Instead, he could only watch as she was dragged away by a vicious monster.

Link yelled savagely at the forest and threw his fist into a nearby tree. His entire life had been remorselessly torn apart, and the only thing he had to hold on to was Malon. _Please be alright, _he pleaded._ Goddesses, please be safe._

As if reminded of the urgency of the situation, Link broke into a run, continuing down the stream. He wondered where Malon was right now; whether she was scared or crying. Link ran faster. _What if she's hurt? What if she's lost?_ Link ran even faster, outpacing the water's flow.

_What if she's dead?_ He was sprinting now, running as fast as he could, trees and rocks blurring past. His heart was racing, and sweat began to soak the collar of his jacket.

After a few minutes, blurred trees suddenly gave way to a wide open field, and Link stumbled to a halt. In the middle of the field was the oldest building that Link had ever seen. Vines hung haphazardly from its high, faded stained-glass windows and boards were missing from its large oaken doors. Scattered around the base of the stone structure were bits of rock that had fallen from the crumbling walls, walls that stretched fifty feet into the air, ending in jagged ramparts that made the place look like a small castle. There was no doubt about it; this was the Temple of Time.

Mouth wide in awe, the youth slowly crossed the field. He had never seen a structure that was so intricate, so artistic. As he approached the great oaken doors, he noticed the unusual silence of the surrounding forest. It was as if even the birds respected the sanctity of the temple. _This place is huge!_ Link thought to himself as he walked closer. How had nobody in Hylia known of this before?

Strangely, the entrance was unobstructed by undergrowth, and it was with an air of suspense that Link heaved the large doors open. He sneezed violently as a cloud of dust was kicked up by the draft. Trying to fan the dust away with his right hand, Link stepped into the large chamber and took a curious look inside.

He gasped. _I've been here before!_ he thought to himself, gazing around at the pillars lining the room and the high windows that cloaked the room in lush yellow light. _The dream!_ This was the place he had dreamed about, the place where he first met the mysterious woman and found the strange sword.

The sword! Of course, that was the sword that he had been sent here to find! The sword that could save Malon! Link looked down toward where he'd seen the lustrous weapon in the dream. There, at the far end of the chamber, was the pedestal, exactly like he remembered it, and in it was the glittering sword.

His feet kicked up dust as he walked, and each footfall sounded too loud, just like in the dream. He noticed uneasily, as he ascended onto the familiar platform, that the dust had mysteriously stayed off of the hexagonal dais.

The sacred blade itself made Link's eyes grow wide in wonder. It was more polished than in the dream, reflecting the rich sunlight that was being cast through the high windows. _It's blue_, he realized with a start as he noticed the hilt. _Just like I'd imagined._

He stood there for a while, gazing at it, marveling at it. _Well, here goes nothing. _The air itself seemed to quiver as he walked forward and stretched out his hand. Static built up as his fingers inched nearer and nearer to the hilt, just like touching charged metal.

His forefinger brushed the hilt.

With an enormous boom like that of a thunderclap, Link was thrown backwards through the air, the charged energy erupting where he'd touched the sword. With a yelp, Link landed painfully on his back, twenty feet away from the dais he had recently occupied.

"I was afraid this would happen," a voice from next to him said. Link achingly scrambled to his feet, moaning at his new bruises. Next to him stood Sheik, her arms folded in front of her. Her eyes were glazed over, gazing at the sword.

"Well thanks for the warning," Link said sarcastically. "It was a pleasant surprise." Sheik ignored him. "What happened?" Link asked after a moment.

"Link," Sheik replied. "I told you that the Cycle of Eternity is real, but that is not entirely true. Rather, it _was_ real." Sheik turned her eyes to the ceiling, still staring at something only she could see. "The cycle was broken during the last turn. Somehow, the Hero of Time was renounced by the Goddess Farore and killed by Ganon. Somehow…" Sheik's mind trailed off for a second before she could continue. "Without the Hero of Time, Ganon could easily have taken control of Hyrule. In order to save her people, Princess Zelda sealed away both herself and Ganon to the Sacred Realm. There they have been for the last three-thousand years…until someone released them." Link, who had turned to gaze at the gleaming blade, spun in alarm. "Don't fear," Sheik said. "You made the right choice. The seal was weakening, and Ganon would have broken free on his own soon enough, while Zelda would have remained trapped, unable to stop him."

Link was stunned. Was all this his fault? Had he released that monster? Sheik seemed to sense his newfound uncertainty and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Everything happens for a reason," she said softly. "The Goddesses are always among us." After a moment of silence, Sheik continued.

"Now that the Princess and Ganon are free again, the cycle is ready to begin anew. However, the Goddesses no longer recognize the Hero of Time as part of the Cycle, and without him hope is lost. Without him the cycle cannot turn." Sheik's eyes grew sad.

"What does that have to do with—" Link began.

"The sword?" Sheik interrupted. "Throughout time this sword has gone by many names: The Hero's Lantern, The Key of Time, Evil's Bane." Sheik paused. "The Master Sword."

Link's eyes widened and he silently mouthed what Sheik had just said. _The Master Sword! The legendary blade of the Chosen of Courage!_

"This sword yields to only one hand." Sheik continued. "It will accept none other than the Hero of Time."

"Then why did you send me here?" Link asked irritably. "Why send me here if I can't use it?"

"Link," Sheik began slowly, as if unsure how to proceed. "Had the cycle continued…you would have been the Hero of Time."

Link's entire body went numb, and a shiver passed through his spine. _Me, the Hero of Time?_ he asked himself. His stomach was doing flips. A thousand thoughts, a thousand questions ran through his mind, making him lightheaded.

"Why?" he finally asked. "Why—how do you—how could you even think that I'm the Hero of Time?" Link was starting to get angry. How could she expect him to accept all this? _Its impossible! _he screamed inside. _The Hero of Time was a legendary figure who could save the world. I don't even stand up for myself at school!_

Sheik responded readily. "Thousands of years ago, in the land of Leburennu, there was an oracle who could see freely into the past and future. People would flock from the surrounding lands to get their fortunes told, but she would never say more than a few words. It was her firm belief that the future was an entity, something that deserved to be left alone. However, before she disappeared in the Great Flood, the oracle betrayed her own ideals to give a powerful prophecy that promised to affect all of mankind. It was known as the Prophecy of Ages."

"That was a long time ago," Sheik continued. "Even some of the prophecy has been lost, but that which remains tells of the breaking of the Cycle, and the rebirth of the Hero of Time."

Link stood there silently, staring off in the direction of the legendary sword. This was too unbelievable; How could she possibly know it was him? _She doesn't even know me!_ he thought. _I can't save the world; I'm just a kid._

Link shook his head. "No, there's no way," he said. "You've got the wrong guy."

"So you believe that what happened to your brother was mere chance?" Sheik said angrily. "Please, he deserves more than that."

"Look at me!" Link yelled. "How could I be the hero that protects mankind? I couldn't even protect Malon!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I don't have anything to do with all this. I just want to save what's left of my family."

"Regardless," Sheik continued, annoyance lining her words. "There is only one way to save the girl, and that is with this sword." She paused to let her words sink in. "You must seek out the three holy altars scattered around Hylia and earn the Goddess' blessings as the new master of this sword."

"What?" Link asked, confused.

"There is no longer a Hero of Time in the Cycle of Eternity, and so this sword no longer has a master. But if you can prove your worth, the Goddesses will bestow that title to you."

Link looked away. There didn't seem to be any other choice. _But then why do I feel like I'm being manipulated into this?_ After a moment he turned back to face the Sheika, his face hardened in resolve.

"I will seek the Goddess' acceptance to save Malon, but I am no Hero of Time."


	8. Chapter 7

Man it's been a while! Sorry again guys, this should be the last time there's such a big gap between chapters. I went on a cruise over spring break and finished chapters up through 10, and I'm gonna start putting aside an hour a day to write. I should be able to go back to a chapter a week now, and I plan to be finished before summer.

As always please read and review! Thanks a ton for those of you who have already taken the time to help me improve my writing, it really helps!

* * *

Chapter 7

"Goddesses three made the world: Nayru, Farore, Din,"

"Here we are," Sheik said softly, heaving open a decrepit door. A fetid stench wafted out of the opened corridor, making Link want to gag. Behind the door, damp stone walls were covered in mold and mucus while decaying vines and old spider webs hung haphazardly from the ceiling. "It's through here," Sheik continued. Link grimaced; it was revolting.

After leaving the Temple of Time, Sheik had led Link through the forest for hours, never once turning or seeming to lose her way. Finally, just when Link had almost convinced himself that they were never going to escape the dense foliage, they burst through the underbrush into a wheat field on the outskirts of the city.

_Hylia. _Link had never been so happy to see the towering skyscrapers and shiny office buildings. The entire city was built around a fast river, and looming over the cityscape was the mountain that had come to be known as the country's trademark. Link was excited to finally be back in society, but as Sheik led him into the heart of the metropolis, Link realized that the city felt alien to him. All those people living out their lives, unaware of the magical history surrounding the land that they called home, unaware of Ganon, unaware of the ever growing threat that he posed upon their lives.

It wasn't the knowledge that truly set Link apart from the people in the city, the ones driving to work or walking to get a cup of coffee, it was his pain. He had been branded like cattle, branded by suffering and heartache, set apart through his brother's death and the sudden loss of Malon. He no longer belonged with these people, they were strangers to him.

It was with this feeling of detachment that Link had followed Sheik through the maze of streets that made up downtown Hylia. He cared little when the pair of them received strange stares from passing businessmen, or when mothers hustled their children into a shop to avoid walking past Link and the Sheika on the sidewalk. Sheik, in her strange garb, attracted most of these malevolent and prejudiced stares, but Link could feel the eyes on himself as well; cold eyes, calculating eyes, eyes that saw his torn, muddied clothing and hated him for it.

In the middle of the city, Sheik had led Link down into the old subway tunnels. Link could remember riding those rails with his parents as a child. Occasionally, Link's mom would take him and Sam downtown to visit his father where he worked as a federal lawyer. They would take a bus to the tracks, and ride the subway to the office building where they would meet up and go out to lunch at a nearby pizza restaurant as a family. Now the situation was much different. Now there was no more family to go visit.

The two of them had traveled through miles of maintenance tunnels and service ducts before finally stopping here, in front of a nondescript, rotting old door. The rank tunnel inside didn't have any electrical lights like the hallways they had been venturing through, instead, unlit torches were set in brackets along the moist stone walls.

"What is this place?" Link asked, eyeing the rats scurrying away from the florescent light shining through the open doorway.

"Just as the physical representation of the legendary triforce, the Goddesses are three in one, each a part of the whole that is our sacred deity," Sheik began, turning to face Link. "Apart, they are merely ideals, but together they are eternal. However, it is that very bond that sets them apart."

Link raised a questioning eyebrow. "How?"

"The Goddesses fit together perfectly, no part of them overlapping. They are each perfect, but each different in their divinity," she explained. "In the same way, their sacred shrines must also be placed separately, each portraying different truths." Sheik took a few steps into the corridor and waved her feminine hand over the nearest torch, causing it to magically burst into flame.

"This is Din's Sanctuary," she finished, walking off and disappearing into the darkness.

Link, nervous about being left alone, quickly followed, grabbing the bright torch off the wall before making his way down the putrid tunnel. It was tough going, the slimy floor made walking too fast dangerous, and he constantly had to stop to swipe away cobwebs that blocked his way.

"Sheik?" Link called down the dark corridor when he didn't catch up to her after a few minutes. His voice reverberated off the walls, echoing ominously back to him. _It doesn't even look like she came down here, _he realized. Link gazed nervously around him, suddenly feeling like the walls were closing in on him.

He took a deep breath. "Alright Link," he said softly, trying to calm himself. "Just keep moving forward; this is for Malon." Slowly, he forced first one foot forward, then the other. His eyes continued to dart around nervously, but he found that his anxiety faded as long as he kept walking. Ducking around a low hanging vine, Link continued down the tunnel, silently cursing the Sheika for deserting him. He hated being underground.

The perpetual slap of his shoes hitting the floor seemed to hypnotize the youth, and soon enough his thoughts began to drift. Images of his brother's death flashed through his mind, making him wince in emotional pain. Link's thoughts turned to Sam's killer, the shadow, a dark version of himself. _A shadow Link._

It frightened him, but at the same time, he hated it. Every particle of his being loathed it, desired its death. But if what Sheik said was true, then it was just a tool, a dog on a leash, and at the end of that leash was a demon.

Link's blood ran cold at the though. _Ganon._ If the legends were true, then he could level entire countries with a single word, even control the dead themselves. It was said that his eyes burned with the black fires of hell, and venom dripped from his teeth. He was a monster, the very essence of evil.

But Ganon was the source of his pain, the author of Sam's murder. If Link was to truly have his revenge, then he would need to face Ganon. _No, _Link told himself harshly. _That's none of my business. I just need to find Malon._

A little voice inside of him refused to be quieted. _This is your brother's true killer! How can you not confront him? Are you really so scared that you will run and hide instead of face your foe? If you had truly loved Sam, you would not cower in the shadow of his murderer._

Arguing with himself, Link hardly noticed when he stumbled upon the end of the corridor. He came out of his reflection with a start, gazing with wonder upon the great oak doors that stood before him. They stretched at least a dozen feet above him, and their warm, elegant beauty provided a stark contrast from the damp, putrid tunnel that surrounded him. There was no door handle, nothing except the decorative iron bars that ran horizontally along each door, holding the wood together.

Except for the occasional drop of murky water hitting the stone floor, Link approached the doors in silence. Cautiously he held his right hand upon the wood. Warmth trickled through his fingers, filling him with radiance and basking his soul in what could only be described as pure virtue.

Suddenly renewed in vigor, Link leaned heavily into the giant doors and gave them a mighty push, managing to swing them open just enough to walk through.

He gazed in awe at the cavern he found himself in. It couldn't be much bigger than his old school gymnasium, but the space felt enormous. Brightly colored crystals hung from the ceiling in tight groups, shining iridescent light down upon the room. Link dropped the torch to the stone floor; he didn't need it anymore, the light from the crystals was more than enough.

Looking around in silent wonder, Link drank in the beauty of the room. Even the rough cave walls had a natural beauty of their own, stalagmites and stalactites crisscrossing in a dazzling dance of power and elegance.

In the center of the room, so small that he almost missed it, stood a small little statue. Nondescript except for the dull red orb that the figure held in the air in front of her, Link felt somehow that it fit perfectly, like a puzzle piece, into the strange cavern.

Intrigued, Link walked closer. As he drew near, he realized that it was a life-size statue of a young girl. Her long straight hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and behind each of her pointed ears were an array of feathers that were made to look like wings. Sculpted around her body was a simple dress that Link supposed could have been called pretty. However, it wasn't the feminine statue that drew his eye, it was the dull red orb in her hands. Face raised, she seemed like she was offering the sphere to the heavens, praying for them to accept her gift.

The orb seemed to absorb the light around it, as if it desperately wanted to burn as bright as the stars in the sky. On the outward face of the orb was an odd symbol that reminded him strongly of the marking on the dais in the Temple of Time. It was amazing to him that everything that had happened so far seemed to be connected. At every turn, he saw something new, but it could always be traced back to the Temple of Time, and beyond that, the Cycle of Eternity. _No, I'm not the bloody Hero of Time!_

Suddenly, a bright red light exploded out of the orb, showering the room in warmth. Just yards away, Link was knocked onto the ground, vainly trying to protect his eyes from the blinding flash.

As suddenly as his had began, it stopped, leaving Link lying on the ground with spots in his vision. Slowly his eyesight returned, and he noticed that the orb was now brightly glowing, illuminating the air around it.

"LINK." The word seemed to come from everywhere at once, reverberating deafeningly around the room. It was louder than thunder, yet Link was nearly drawn to tears by the mere beauty contained within the voice. It was neither deep nor shrill, but it was a woman's voice nonetheless. "WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?" The world seemed to rock on its hinges, bending reality around him. Link couldn't believe the waves of euphoria crashing through him. There was so much power in her voice. Power…

"W-who are you?" Link managed finally, still lying on the floor.

"I AM POWER," the voice continued. "BUT YOU KNOW ME AS DIN." Link's eyes widened and his mouth hung open in shock. "AND THIS IS MY SANCTUARY." With every one of the Goddesses words, the orb would pulse, illuminating the cavern. Link was speechless. His mind was reeling, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"LINK, WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?" Din asked again. She didn't sound impatient, or angry, or irritated. In fact, Link couldn't hear any emotion in her voice at all.

Finally, he remembered why he was at this place, why he had traveled miles through a creepy tunnel, why he was talking to one of the very Goddesses that created the world. The spark that had begun to dim flashed brightly inside him once again, igniting the youth's resolve.

"Malon," he whispered, no longer terrified that he was in the presence of a deity. He had to do this; there was no turning back.

"YOU WISH TO SAVE HER." It was not a question.

"Yes," Link replied softly. Raising his voice he added, "I need the Master Sword."

"YOU DESIRE A SACRED BLADE MEANT ONLY FOR THE CHOSEN HERO OF COURAGE," Din replied. "YOU THINK YOURSELF POWERFUL ENOUGH TO WIELD SUCH A SWORD?" This time it was a question, but Link had the feeling that she already knew the answer.

"I have to be," Link replied stubbornly. Insecurity nagged at him, but he refused to listen to it. "There's no other way!"

"THEN YOU MUST OVERCOME MY TRIAL AND EARN MY BLESSING," Din continued, orb pulsing with her words. "ARE YOU PREPARED?"  
"Yes."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8! Trying to get one of these done a week is incredibally aggrivating. Especially with a longer chapter like this one. And on top of it all, AP tests are in a few weeks, and I've gotta keep my priorities straight. Oh well, I _can_ promise that the next chapter will be in next week since it's a really short one.

As always, read and review, por favor!

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Chapter 8

"Hero's might will be tested,"

"Link…" a murky voice intoned from somewhere beside the youth. "Link, wake up…" Groggily, he opened his eyes, trying to wipe the sleep from them as his vision sharpened.

"I'm ashamed of you," Malon continued as Link finally pulled himself awake. "How can you fall asleep in the pew on your brother's wedding day?"

"I…" he began, suddenly faltering. _Malon?_ Link spun, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "Malon?" he repeated aloud, voice hardly a whisper. _How is this happening? She was kidnapped by…_ As soon as he had it, the thought vanished like smoke, impossible for him to regain. _Of course Malon's here, _he told himself. _Where else would she be?_

Immediately, all his previous surprise and amazement was gone, miraculously replaced by confidence as the memories of the past few months began tumbling back into his mind.

Link's brother Sam had proposed to Beck almost three months ago, just a few days after Link and Malon had gotten out of high school. Beck had been so excited at the proposal that she'd insisted that the wedding day be moved up so they could be married by summer's end, and Sam had been more than happy to oblige.

Link remembered the crazy proposal night. Everybody had been there, including Malon. During dinner, Sam had gotten down on one knee, holding out a magnificent gold ring to an astonished Rebecka. It was with tears of joy that she accepted, voice cracking from excitement.

Afterward, Link had felt so happy, so deliriously happy that he couldn't think straight. Not two hours later, Link found himself confessing affection toward Malon and asking her out on a date. They'd been together ever since.

And today Sam was finally getting married! Everyone had dressed up nicely for the occasion, Link in a new black tux with a green vest, and Malon with a dazzling red dress. Link and Malon were sitting in the second pew, the first having been saved for photographs of Link and Sam's parents.

The excitement seemed like a short relief as well, since it distracted from the horrible things that had been occurring all around Hylia recently. Abnormal earthquakes plagued the city, shattering windows and crushing entire communities in their own rubble. There had been a handful of disappearances too, all boys just about Link's age. He shivered, times like these made people look twice before they crossed the street.

On top of it all, the crime level had reached staggering new heights. Many people believed this to be the result of a black mood plaguing the city's people. Everybody felt it, felt the oppression and hopelessness, and it was getting worse with every day.

At least Link's nightmares had finally gone away. Ever since that strange night when he'd woken up with some foreign instrument in his hands, he'd begun to have dreams of the same woman, always shouting for Link to help her. The instrument had remained a mystery for a few days before Link had finally gotten rid of it. For all he knew it was still laying somewhere in Malon's hayloft.

Over the last few months though, the dreams had gotten worse and worse until all he heard in the night was the woman's bone chilling screams as blood ran rampant down her face. For weeks he'd been afraid to sleep, staying awake for days at a time until finally collapsing from exhaustion. About a week ago, the nightmares had suddenly stopped, and for the first time in months, Link was able to sleep soundly; he finally felt refreshed.

Well, almost. Every once in a while he'd still find himself drifting off and taking a little nap on a car ride or during dinner._ Or in a pew_. He laughed silently to himself. How in the name of the Goddesses did he manage to fall asleep at his brother's wedding?

"Link?" Malon said from beside him.

"Hmm?" he replied, turning to face her. He found it hard to focus on her though, his attention kept being pulled to different objects around the ornate chamber that Sam and Rebecka had chosen as the place they would take their wedding vows. The ceiling was about two stories high, and all around the walls hung tapestries and paintings that looked hundreds of years old. The floor rose up a few steps at the front of the room, and on the rising sat a magnificent altar where couples would traditionally kneel and perform the marriage rites.

"Are you ok?" Malon asked worriedly. "You seemed really out of it after I woke you up, and you said my name like you were really surprised to see me."

Had he done that? Link couldn't remember.

"I'm always surprised when I wake up to a world where a girl as beautiful and talented as you could end up with a guy like me," Link said. He flashed her a dashing smile.

"You're a shameless flirt," she replied jokingly. She blushed, and leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. A few rows back somebody whistled. Link spun around and threw a crumpled up program at the antagonist.

Ever since he'd asked Malon out on the first date, he'd become more and more confident around other people, even going so far as to start conversations with kids that he'd see at some of the hangouts that he and Malon frequented. Link quickly learned that people hadn't ever been avoiding him at school because of his odd ears, he had been avoiding them. All these years of thinking that he was being ostracized by his fellow classmates, and it turned out, he had been the one ostracizing them.

He'd made quite a few good friends over the summer, even inviting a couple of them to Sam's wedding; including the freckled redhead three rows back that had whistled at him.

"Shut up man, you're just jealous," he joked back at his friend, who was still fishing for the lost program underneath his pew. Malon giggled again, laying a gentle hand on Link's knee. He quietly sneaked an arm around her shoulders in return, savoring the feel of her soft skin underneath his archery callused fingers.

The violin and harp players in the front corner of the chamber began to play after a few minutes, signaling the beginning of the ceremony. First down the aisle was the priest, walking slowly between the pews, his aged face bright with joy. Next came two flower girls that skipped down the aisle, throwing little flower pedals haphazardly into nearby people's faces. Some of the audience laughed at their antics, but a reverent mood quickly took hold of the room once again. Lastly, the promised couple came, hand-in-hand with Beck's fingers resting daintily upon Sam's raised palm, walking slowly down the aisle toward the altar.

Link was amazed at how beautiful Rebecka looked in her wedding dress. The silk white gown flowed hypnotically around her feet, and the long sleeves draped loosely around her forearms. Her hair was curled for the occasion, red locks falling beautifully around her shoulders. To Link, she looked almost like a Goddess. Imagining Malon in the dress, Link blushed. _She would make it even more beautiful._

Sam walked down the aisle beside Rebecka, also dressed nicely. He was wearing the traditional white tuxedo and shoes, and his usually rampant hair was combed back into a manageable mane. Sam's face was one to inspire curiosity. The most obviously dominant emotion portrayed was joy, but for some reason Link detected sadness as well. It wasn't sadness at the union that Sam was forming, Link realized as Sam glanced sorrowfully at the photos of their parents that occupied the front pew. Sam was feeling the awful void that had been left by their parent's deaths. The realization hurt Link too; Sam deserved for them to be here.

As the couple approached the altar, Link brought his left hand across and grasped Malon's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. The music softened noticeably as the marriage rite began, and, as one, Sam and Rebecka knelt at the base of the altar.

"It is with abounding joy that I bring these two young people before the altar today," the priest intoned dramatically, beginning the vows. "Man and woman, husband and wife, a fraternal bond envied by even the three sacred Goddesses." The priest stopped to take a deep breath, and Link took the opportunity to sneak a glance at the girl beside him. Goddesses, she was beautiful. He quietly drank up the sight of her as he ran his right hand through her beautiful red hair.

He brought his attention back up to the altar as the priest continued, but not before giving Malon's hand a tiny squeeze. _I would die if I ever lost you,_ he silently vowed.

"Therefore, I humble beseech the Goddesses to watch over and protect this holy union," the priest said. "Din, Goddess of power, give this marriage strength and bind them to each other for all eternity." Pulling a lit candle from underneath the altar, the priest handed it to Sam and Rebecka. Together, the couple held the candle between them. Sam had told Link beforehand that the candle signified strength in their marriage, and by holding it together, they showed their willingness to work together to keep the union strong.

"Nayru, Goddess of wisdom, give this marriage peace, and give each of these young people contentment and hope for the future." This time, the priest brought out a small basin of water. Laying it on the table, he dipped two gnarled fingers from each hand in it. Then, leaning forward, he touched his wet fingers to each of the couple's eyelids. Link knew that the water symbolized cleanliness and purity, and by putting the water on the couple's eyelids, it supposedly washed away lust and wrongful desire, purifying the marriage.

"Farore, Goddess of courage," the priest continued. He was talking more slowly now, as if fatigued by his work. "Give this union fruit. Help them to see the beauty in all things, and for them to experience new joy with every passing day." The priest brought out the last symbolic article, a small plate of soil. Holding the plate in one hand, he used the other to grab a pinch of soil and sprinkle it upon each of Sam and Rebecka's brows. This was one of the most cherished of marriage traditions. The soil was meant to bind the lover's two hearts into one breast, like vines intertwining as they reach toward the sun.

Setting the plate down, the priest took his wizened hands and set one on each of the couple's heads.

"Love is a beautiful thing," the priest said. Link was warmed by the sincerity pouring from the old man. "It is what sets mankind apart. Love binds us together, creating in us one joint soul, one binding spirit."

The words touched Link deeply. For the first time, he felt like he fully understood how strong the love that Sam and Rebecka had for each other truly was. He found himself wishing that one day he and would find that same caliber of love and compassion in his relationship with Malon. To be able to pledge their entire lives to each other without even the slightest regret or second though, that was true love.

Link found a tear sneaking down his cheek as he watched his family grow. Their love was swelling, bursting at the seams. Together, they had come a long way from that day three years ago when they had lost all that was once precious to them.

"Sam," the priest continued. "What is the purpose of this rite?"

"To pledge my love for Rebecka before both the Goddesses and the people here today," Sam replied.

Another tear found its way down Link's cheek, and another. He felt Malon squeeze his hand, and when he looked over at her, she was smiling compassionately at him. With a steady hand, she reached up and wiped the tears out of his eyes, letting her fingers trail delicately over his damp cheeks for a moment before falling away.

Link's heart was near to bursting. Happiness, pure happiness filled him. Every particle of his being felt like it was shining, irradiating joy.

"Rebecka," Link heard the priest say. "What is the purpose of this rite?" Link's hand grasped Malon's even more tightly. He never wanted to let go, never wanted to lose this feeling.

"To pledge my love for Sam before the Goddesses and the people here today," Beck replied without hesitation.

After this he was going to have a family again.

"Then, by love, you are now man and wife," the priest finished.

_And I'm never going to lose them again._

* * *

Without warning, the ground began shaking violently. A deep rumble filled the chamber, quickly followed by a loud, ominous roar that sounded much like that of a wild animal. Link reached over and wrapped his arms protectively around Malon, holding her body tightly to his. These strange earthquakes had been occurring all over Hylia, and several times entire buildings had collapsed, burying everybody inside.

Suddenly, the stone wall behind the elderly priest exploded inward, sending giant rocks and dust flying into the room. Without thinking, Link quickly threw himself and Malon onto the floor behind the pew in front of him, narrowly avoiding being struck by a giant boulder. As the earthquake died out, he began to hear the screams of fear and pain fill the room.

Link slowly brought his head up, looking over the pews around him nervously. He gasped in horror at what he saw. The blast from the explosion had sent deadly debris shooting at the people occupying the pews. The elderly priest was now a crumbled heap in the aisle where he had been thrown by the blast. Blood covered the entire left side of his face, and all of his frail limbs stuck out in grotesque directions.

Continuing to look around the chamber, Link became nauseated by the horrible scene before him. All around him he saw both the dead and dying, their bodies crushed by flying rubble. Three rows back, his red-haired friend was sagged over the back of the pew he had been occupying, a piece of wood lodged in his chest. Many of those who were not seriously injured were woozily trying to escape the horrors of the room, but their confused bodies only stumbled around sickeningly for a minute before collapsing from shock.

_Sam! Beck!_ Link spun around, searching desperately for his family. He breathed a deep sigh of relief when he found them, clutching each other in the shelter of the altar. They seemed unhurt, just dazed. Link wished that he could spare his brother and newfound sister the terror that they would open their eyes to.

Shakily, Link forced himself to his feet, at the same time helping pull a still dizzy Malon back onto the pew.

"W-what…" she began, but trailed off when she saw the carnage from the blast.

"I-I don't know," Link replied, answering her unasked question. He was still leaning heavily on the pew, but was beginning to feel like he could walk again. Slowly, he began making his way toward the altar. "I'm going to go make sure that Sam and Rebecka are alright," he said to Malon. "Go call 9-1-1." His mind and vision were still swimming from the ordeal, but he knew that they needed help.

Out of nowhere, there came a deep booming laugh that echoed ominously around the ruined chamber.

"I've finally found you," the deep male voice said. The words were followed by an immense figure appearing out of the dust where the wall had exploded. "Heir of the Triforce of Courage!"

The man's presence immediately filled the room. Black and gold armor plates covered most of his body, and around his shoulders sat a black and maroon cape. The neck of the cape merged into even more gold embellished armor that came up around his neck in a high collar. The man's eerie green tinted skin was topped by spiked red hair, and a large golden jewel was mounted on his large forehead. He didn't seem to be carrying any sort of gun, but Link couldn't tell for sure underneath the large imperial cape. Either way, he was a man that Link planned to avoid. The problem was, he was staring right at Link.

_Who is this?_ Link asked himself nervously. _Did he blow up the wall?_ A few feet away, in front of the altar, Sam and Rebecka were finally getting to their feet. "Sam!" Link yelled. "Are you two ok?" Sam nodded dizzily, looking around the room with a sick look on his face. After a moment he noticed the commanding man at the front of the chamber. Immediately, Sam stepped in front of Rebecka, protecting her with his body.

"Who are you?" Sam asked loudly. The large man, who had been surveying the room without expression, slowly looked down at Sam. His eyes squinted and mouth tightened with revulsion, the same expression that most people would use if they found mud on their shoes.

"I am Ganon, King of Darkness and Master of the Triforce of Power," he said dramatically after a moment. "But I am not here for you, peasant." Ganon brought his arm up toward Sam and waved his hand as if brushing away a fly. With a grunt, Sam was thrown backwards across the room, tumbling wildly through the air before colliding headfirst into the brick wall at the far end of the room behind the last row of pews. Sam sank to the ground and collapsed into a limp heap.

"Sam!" Link heard Beck scream as she ran the aisle, sidestepping rocks and bodies as she went. "Somebody help me!" she screamed helplessly as she reached him, kneeling down and holding his mangled body in her arms.

Link was numb in disbelief. Ganon? The King of Darkness? _There's no way that this is real. Sam can't be dead. Ganon is just a myth!_

"The one I am here for," Ganon continued as his nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Is you." Ganon lifted a finger and pointed straight at Link. Link froze where he stood, rooted to the spot out of utter confusion and fear.

"Come here boy," Ganon said; Link didn't move. Snarling, Ganon turned his hand over and curled his finger in one swift motion, as if to somehow beckon Link to him. Goosebumps broke out all over Link's skin. The air around him was condensing, stifling his breath.

It was terrifying, the feeling of hopelessness as Link slowly lost the ability to breath. The air seemed to have just turned to stone around his body. Suddenly, the air pocket that held him shifted, grabbing him and carrying him through the air like a rag doll toward the overbearing presence at the front of the room. He came to a sudden, painful halt right in front of Ganon, but the magic that had sent him flying through the air continued to hold him tightly, dangling his feet just inches off the ground.

Sneering, Ganon reached out and firmly grasped Link's chin, moving his face from side to side, inspecting.

"You have an uncanny resemblance to your most recent predecessor," Ganon said thoughtfully. Link still couldn't breathe, the rock hard air refused to let him draw in oxygen. His vision began to blur, and stars danced in front of his eyes. _Air, I need air!_

Suddenly, he was free. Link collapsed to the floor, lungs sobbing wildly for breath. Just as his vision cleared, a huge boot connected with his chest, sending him over the altar and into the debris strewn aisle below.

Link was in agony. He desperately needed oxygen, his lungs were screaming for it, but his body refused to draw breath. His breathing was short and quick, air knocked completely out of him by Ganon's kick, but slowly he returned to full consciousness.

"I can't have you die on me quite so quickly," Ganon mocked. "No, a quick death is much too easy." Laughing, Ganon magically soared over the altar. Alighting nimbly on the ground and striding powerfully toward Link.

Link couldn't move. Out of pain or fear he didn't know, but his body wouldn't respond. Meanwhile, Ganon kept walking closer. Link began sweating, shaking in fear. His was helpless before this monster. His heart beat faster and faster. He was helpless.

Out of the rows of pews burst Malon. She dove wildly through the air, colliding into Ganon and carrying them both to the floor.

"Link, run!" she screamed.

_No, Malon…_ Link was having trouble thinking straight. Before his very eyes he was watching his entire life fall apart. He began shaking more than ever, muscles locking up and heart racing like a drum roll.

With a ferocious roar, Ganon jumped back onto his feet. Snarling, he grabbed Malon by the neck and held her, by his left hand, in the air in front of him.

"Meddlesome wretch!" Ganon yelled ferociously. "No one harasses me and lives!" He pulled back his right hand as if he were going to hit her, palm open. In his hand appeared a bright blue ball of energy. It sizzled dangerously, sapphire lightning occasionally shooting out in different directions and melting anything it came into contact with.

_Malon._ She was going to die. In an instant, all the feelings that he had for Malon rushed back to him, stronger than ever. Pride cleared his mind, peace calmed his body, and love…love gave him strength. He would not let Malon die for him.

As Ganon thrust the deadly ball of energy toward Malon, Link moved. He moved faster than he'd ever moved before, jumping off the ground and diving forward with uncanny speed.

He screamed as the lightning tore through his body. The energy ripped at his chest and stomach, burning through his frail flesh. Every part of his body seemed like it was on fire, and his eyes rolled up into his head, darkening his vision.

It seemed like he hung there for an eternity, balanced on the edge of demise. His cloudy mind cleared for the first time, and he looked back on his life with crystal clear visualization. He saw the sorrow and happiness he had experienced, but he could also see the things that he could have done, the what-ifs that might have come to be had he lived. As he fell into death's welcoming embrace, he heard Ganon's sinister voice.

"I have won again, Hero of Time."


	10. Chapter 9

Well here it is. It's super short, but a chapter nonetheless. I can't promise another chapter for a week or two cause AP tests are coming up, but I'll try to do what I can.

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Chapter 9

"Power worthy…"

Link opened his eyes. He was back in Din's sanctuary, laying face down on the ground in front of the Goddess' statue. The left side of his face was wet from the damp floor, and he wiped it off nervously as he pushed himself into a kneeling position.

"What happened?" he asked the statue shakily, only half expecting a response. However, the Goddess was not long in responding.

"YOU HAVE PASSED MY TEST," she said. Just as before, the orb pulsed wildly with her words, but to Link, the light seemed less ominous, less mystifying.

"That was all a—a test?" he asked unbelievably. "But I was there! I saw Ganon. I saw him kill Sam." The memory hurt him more than he'd expected. For a short time he had been happy again. He had truly thought that Sam was alive and that Malon was with him. Now the void that they'd left in his heart seemed larger than ever.

"It seemed so real," he muttered desolately.

"IT WAS A PATH YOU MIGHT HAVE TAKEN."

Link was silent for a while, lost in his thoughts. He had so many questions, but he felt many of them were not questions that the Goddess would choose to answer. There was one though, that seemed to outweigh all others.

"How did I pass?" he asked. "I…died." The orb began to glow warmly, illuminating the chamber.

"TRUE POWER IS NOT MEASURED BY STRENGTH OF BODY, BUT STRENGTH OF WILL," Din replied. The words seemed to ring in Link's head, reverberating as nothing less than pure truth.

"BY SACRIFICING YOUR OWN LIFE FOR ANOTHER'S, YOU HAVE SHOWN MORE POWER THAN GANON COULD EVER HAVE." Whether from the comforting heat of the orb, or the words of the Goddess he didn't know, but Link began to feel hope blooming anew in his heart.

"YOU HAVE PASSED MY TEST," Din repeated.

Link got to his feet. He had even more questions on his tongue, but before he could voice them, the air inside of the cavern began to move, swirling around the walls like a tornado, slowly becoming faster and faster. Link's clothes flapped noisily, and he put a hand up to protect his eyes from the fast moving dust.

The spiraling air began forming tighter and tighter circles, all the while accelerating and closing in on the irradiant orb. The condensing energy was massive, causing the room to tremble as the circles grew even tighter. Just as the concentrated vortex was about to touch the glowing ball, the pent up energy exploded, sending out a powerful gust of wind and a brilliant flash of light.

After a moment the chamber stilled, and Link cautiously lowered his arm from where it had been covering his face. Everything seemed untouched by the strange phenomenon; the shimmering crystals still hung from the high ceiling, and the feminine statue still stood in the cavern's center, holding its red orb high. Except now the once bright ball was faded and dull, reflecting the departure of the Goddess' omnipotent presence from the room.

Link didn't smile as he left the cavern, but hope now accompanied resolve in his heart.


	11. Chapter 10

Haha, I'm almost done writing the story! Despite how much time it takes, I'm actually writing this story on paper before I type it, giving me an extra opportunity to edit it. And I only have one more chapter to write on paper! Yay! (Then the epilogue, which won't be long) So be prepared for me to start pumping these chapters out.

I promise (for varying reasons) to have them all done by June 1st!

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Chapter 10

"Thus eternity's cycle was born,"

"All I'm saying is that you could have at least warned me." After finding his way out of the infuriating labyrinth of tunnels in the subway, Link had reached the now dark city to find Sheik waiting for him.

"Would you have still proceeded if you had known that I couldn't have accompanied you?" the Sheikah replied knowingly.

"Yes!" Link lied. "Next time don't just disappear and leave me in the dark!" He looked up at the night sky above him, he hadn't thought that he had been underground that long.

"How long was I gone?" he asked.

"The sun has set twice since you went underground," Sheik replied simply. Link was shocked.

"Two days?!" he practically yelled. "It only felt like a few hours!"

"Time moves differently for the Goddesses," Sheik said sagely. "They do not exist only in one time as we do. Rather, they exist in all times at once." Link snorted rudely. He was tired of being talked to in riddles.

"So where's the next trial?" he asked. "Anything could have happened to Malon in two days, I need to hurry."

"Nayru's Solace is located on the tip of a high mountain that surveys the land once called Hyrule," Sheik replied. "We will find a place to camp once we are free of the city. Tomorrow we will begin the long climb to the summit of Zora's Peak, to Nayru's Solace."

The walk out of Hylia seemed to take an eternity. Empty streets and quite roads may have expedited the journey, but Link was more impatient than ever to keep moving. He'd seen firsthand what Ganon was capable of in Din's Sanctuary, and now he feared for Malon more than ever. What Link had seen, however, ate at him for another reason as well. _Was it real?_ His mind continued to dwell on the trial until Sheik finally found a suitable campsite in a patch of trees at the base of the mountain.

Zora's Peak had been a trademark structure of Hylia for hundreds of years. The mountain would get covered in layers of powdery snow during the winter, drawing in snowshoe-hikers and cross-country skiers from all over the country with its spectacular landscape. In the summer though, the mountain truly bloomed. Lush grass grew around elegant flowers and tall evergreens. Deer flourished in the peaceful habitat, and songbirds constantly serenaded the beauty of it all.

The wondrous mountain had, long ago, been turned into a wildlife reserve to preserve the environment, and every year thousands of tourists flocked to the area to revel in the natural beauty. However, nobody was ever allowed within ten miles of the summit, not even the park rangers. The government insisted that the summit remain untouched in order to preserve the wildlife habitat.

Link sighed as he sat down on a nearby log. He'd loved the wilderness his entire life. Even as a boy he'd looked forward to exploring the forests around the lake that they often went to. Climbing the mountain, while grueling, took him back to his childhood adventures.

Sheik disappeared for a minute, reappearing with a thick bundle of dry wood. Within minutes, she had a roaring fire to keep them warm.

"You know," Link said, trying to start up a conversation with the quiet Sheikah. "There's an old story about how this mountain got its name." Sheik was silent, but Link decided to keep trying. "The tale says that the woman, Zora, flung herself off of the mountain when her lover ran off with a fairy queen." Link thought that the woman on the other side of the fire might have smiled, but he couldn't tell through her thick veil.

"The Zora were a race of aquatic natives that lived in this land thousands of years ago," she replied. "Their culture was…beautiful." Her voice became sad, almost as if she were mourning for the Zora. "I do not know what became of them."

Suddenly, Link realized how hard it must be for her, being ripped out of the world that she so passionately loved and being thrust into an uncertain future where everything and everyone she knew were gone.

"I'm sorry," he said softly after a moment. Sheik looked up, drawn out of her reverie.

"For what?" she asked.

"I'm not the only one who's lost something," he said simply. Sheik looked down at the ground.

"Thank you Link," she said.

Link smiled; it was comforting to know that she was indeed human underneath her mysterious shell,_ albeit, a intimidating magic human who happens to be from the past. _Chuckling inside, Link went back to gazing into the fire. There was something still troubling him.

"Sheik, I have a question," he said. She seemed to know what he was going to ask.

"Link, whatever happened inside that cavern was for you and you alone—"

"Was it real?" he interrupted her. "What I saw, did it really happen? Din said that it was a path that I might have taken." Images of the trial flashed through his mind. He had been happier than he'd ever been before.

Sheik sighed resignedly. "Certainty is impossible, but I believe what you saw to be a life that you might have lived had you chosen to do something different. One small choice can have enormous repercussions on the world."

_The Butterfly Effect_, Link thought, recognizing the idea from a book that he'd read in psychology class. _But what did I do differently in that world than I did in this world?_ _When did my life and that Link's life diverge?_ Suddenly it struck him.

"I'd never played the ocarina," he said softly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the powerful instrument. With everything that had happened, he'd almost forgotten that it was there. "I'd just thrown it away."

"Life is a river, ever-flowing toward the open sea. It is a river that cannot be crooked or barred, but you—you have had the rare chance to look into the past and truly understand a choice you have made," Sheik said. "And understanding is the first step on the path of wisdom."

The pair got up with the sunrise, and after a quick meal of nuts and fruit that Sheik had somehow procured during the night, they began the long trek up to the top of Zora's Peak. It was a tedious trip, and Link's feet soon became sore from the hard ground. After several hours of tough going, Link finally voiced his frustration.

"I never imagined that it would be such a long hike," he said, panting heavily. The mountain in front of him seemed to loom as tall as ever. "It doesn't even seem like we're any closer."

"We've almost reached the base of the wildlife reserve," Sheik replied. Link was annoyed to see that she wasn't even breathing hard. "The mountain is not as large as it appears. Once we begin our climb it will only be a few hours until we reach the shrine."

"We?" Link replied cynically. "Don't you mean me?" She ignored him, continuing through the forest.

The sun had barely reached its zenith when Sheik stopped abruptly. They had only been climbing for about an hour, but Link already felt sweat drenching the back of his shirt. He wiped at his forehead, wishing for some sort of relief.

Looking through the trees ahead, Link saw a tall fence blocking further travel up the mountain. There was a sign on the fence that said, 'Do Not Enter! Federal Reserve!'

"From here, the journey becomes yours," Sheik said. "I will be waiting for you."

"Awesome," Link replied sarcastically, eyeing the tall fence.

"It would be foolish for you to journey further without any means of protection," Sheik continued. "So I collected some items from your house that I expect may become useful."

From under her cloak, Sheik produced Link's bow and an accompaniment of arrows set in a leather quiver. Grinning, Link took the items and looked them over carefully. Everything was the way he had left it, even the way he had wound his unstrung bowstring around the quiver.

Quickly stringing the bow, Link swung both it and the quiver onto his back.

"Thank you," he told the Sheika.

"There is one more thing," he said, again reaching into her cloak. This time she pulled out an old cloth book bag that Link recognized as his own. Taking it, Link curiously looked inside to discover the book that Malon had given him at the lake. The faded green cover and golden embellishment spoke more to Link than the foreign words inside. It seemed so long ago that she'd given it to him; a lifetime had passed since then. _So much has changed_.

"Thank you Sheik," Link said softly, touched by the woman's thoughtfulness.

"I knew it was important to you," Sheik replied. "But Link, you need to understand something." Link looked up. "You must set aside your personal feelings during the next trial, or else you will never pass Nayru's test."

Set aside his personal feelings? _Does that mean that I should forget about Malon? _he though. _But Malon's the only reason I'm even on this mountain!_

With a thoughtful nod, Link started off toward the fence. It was going to be a long journey up the mountain, and he was running short on time.

Link hiked through the trees until it grew dark, only stopping once the sun had completely set. He set his belongings down with a sigh. He was only a few minutes from where he thought that he needed to be, but traveling at night was foolish; one wrong turn could lead him off the edge of a cliff, or right into a den of bears. Achingly, he sat down against a tree; he sure had been doing a lot of walking lately.

_I wonder where Malon is right now,_ he thought sadly. It seemed like it had been years since she had been taken. Could things ever be the same again? _No. Sam's dead. Things will never be the same._

Looking into the dark sky, Link tried to focus on the bright moon and the sounds of the forest around him, but his mind inevitably drifted back to the red-haired girl he'd grown to love. Was she ok? Was she mad at him? Was she hurt?

Although he had resolved not to fall asleep, Link slowly found himself drifting off. Despite his concern for Malon, his tired, aching body drew him into a deep slumber.

Link woke up in middle of the night to the eerie sounds of wolves howling in the distance. The full moon was bright above him, but Link still couldn't see more than an arm's length away. Another wolf howled, then another. Link shivered; were they getting closer?

Silence followed Link's unspoken question. Minutes seemed to stretch into hours as Link listened, straining his ear for any sound. Suddenly, from just feet away, a chilling howl erupted into the night air. Link's heart began racing wildly, did he dare move? Slowly, ever so slowly, Link reached out his hand toward the blackness where he'd thought the ominous sound to have originated. He didn't know what made him stretch his fingers toward the unknown, maybe it was curiosity.

Link jumped back in horror, heart missing a beat. Had his fingers just brushed fur? His breathing quickened and he began sweating profusely, but he didn't dare move for fear of the wolf. Was there really a wolf?

Nothing happened. Link, yet again, reached out his hand. He was even more slow, even more cautious this time. Shakily, his fingers reached toward the unknown, and kept reaching.

Breathing a little more normally, he swiped his hand through the air around him; there wasn't anything there. _I must have been imaging things_, he told himself, laying his head back against the tree trunk.

Link didn't hear any more wolves, and he managed to stay awake throughout the rest of the night. Just before sunrise, before even the morning songbirds, Link set out, only waiting long enough to be able to see a few feet in front of him.

The rest of the walk to the summit was relatively short. It only took Link about a half-hour to reach the peak, right as the first tendrils of sun were peeking over the horizon.

Stepping out of a clump of trees, Link gasped; the vista was beyond anything he had ever seen before. He could see miles in any direction, even the city of Hylia appeared small before his gaze. The morning sunlight glittered dazzlingly off of the dew strewn grass, and light puffs of cloud dotted the bright blue sky. Sometime during his short hike, the birds had emerged from their night's recluse and begun to majestically serenade the wondrous plateau.

In the center of the clearing was a statue of a girl, alike to the statue he'd seen in Din's Sanctuary in every way, except for the orb, which was tinted blue rather than red. The sun shone gloriously onto the back of the sculpture, reflecting the light perfectly and giving the statue a bright golden outline.

Link could see what Sheik had meant when she'd said that each shrine was located in a place that was flawless and perfect_. This view is amazing,_ Link thought, peacefully breathing in the sweet mountaintop air. Suddenly, soft blue light exploded out of the orb, sending a wave of energy through the plateau. Link's clothes flapped back and his hair whipped around his head wildly, but somehow he managed to keep his feet under him.

Within moments, the tempest was over, leaving behind a subtly different clearing than before. The air seemed lighter, more alive, and the grass felt like it had grown taller. In fact, everything seemed just a little bit…more. Link's eyes widened as small flecks of light began drifting up from the ground. They wafted around lazily, casting a peaceful and serene mood over the clearing.

"LINK, WHY HAVE YOU ENTERED MY SOLACE?" Nayru's voice penetrated the plateau, powerfully rendering Link helpless. The words seemed to contain the same essence of beauty as the mountain, powerful and awe-inspiring at the same time. Link had to fight to keep his eyes from watering, the emotions were intense, but he didn't let it distract him.

"I need the Master Sword," Link replied, letting resolve fill his voice.

"YOU DESIRE A BLADE MEANT ONLY FOR THE CHOSEN HERO OF COURAGE," Nayru responded, echoing Din's words. "YOU THINK YOURSELF WISE ENOUGH TO WEILD SUCH A SWORD?" Just as before, the orb glowed brightly whenever the Goddess spoke, illuminating the area with her presence.

"I have to be," Link said.

"THEN YOU MUST OVERCOME MY TRIAL AND EARN MY BLESSING."

Nayru's words were the exact same as Din's before her, and the similarity made Link nervous. He couldn't bear another trial like the first. With a silent snarl, he quieted his anxiety. _This is for Malon. I'll do anything to see her free._

"ARE YOU PREPARED?" Nayru continued, her voice ringing through his head.

"Yes," Link replied, eyes closed in anticipation. "Yes I am."

"THEN YOU MUST ANSWER MY PROBLEM."


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Ordeal tragic will he face,"

Link was in a forest, the densest, greenest forest he had ever seen. Little sparks of light, like he had seen at Nayru's Solace, floated around carelessly. A rich pine smell hung heavily over the trees, making Link feel serene and calm, while at the same time making his eyelids droop lazily. This was a place that he could live happily forever. There were no worries here.

Music. A sweet, upbeat melody found its way to him through the dense foliage. The tune, so happy, made Link smile joyously. He wanted to sing; he wanted to dance; he wanted to laugh.

So he did. Skipping and giggling like a child, he followed the merry tune through the trees. Link felt carefree for the first time in a long time. What did Ganon matter? Right here, right now, he was happy. Nothing bad could happen here.

Pushing through a thin layer of branches, Link emerged into a small meadow. The melody was coming from a child sitting on a flat stump in the middle of the clearing. A girl. She was playing a wooden ocarina. Her hair was green, a lush green that spoke softly of grass and trees, of budding life. Her clothes were also green, although a slightly darker shade, like that of evergreens, or the damp moss on a fallen log.

Link's joyous laughter was rejuvenated at the sight of her. In a cheery manner, Link danced exuberantly around the meadow, jumping and twirling for fun. He didn't know how long he danced, time seemed to have no meaning. It could have been minutes, it could have been days. It didn't matter. He never got tired, never got hungry. The music seemed to live within him, supplying him with unending energy and life.

Thunder suddenly ripped through the air, disrupting both the joyful tune and Link's vigorous dance. Link looked towards the sky curiously. Night seemed to be descending upon the heavens, but much too fast. Billowing black clouds appeared in the east, then in the west, then in the north and south. Horrible dark clouds were approaching from every direction at once, convening in the sky right above the meadow.

Link could only watch in wretched fascination as the clouds continued to move in, shrinking the lone patch of blue sky between them. The thunder grew louder and louder as the clouds got closer and closer and the blue sky became smaller and smaller. Louder, closer, smaller.

The clouds met, closing the hole in the sky.

Without warning, a high pitched scream rent the air. Link spun around in alarm. Just as before, the girl was seated on the peculiar tree stump, but something was wrong. The ocarina that she had been so cheerily playing rolled out of her unclenched hand, falling silently to the suddenly ominous forest floor. A moment later, the child followed, collapsing into a limp heap on the ground. On her back was the charred remains of clothes and bloody skin melted together into a grotesque mass. Link gasped in horror, having to suppress vomit at the sight.

Without the girl's erupting vitality and the song's cheerful countenance, the clearing took on a much darker feel. It now felt oppressive rather than joyful, despairing rather than merry.

Out of the darkness created by the thick trees on the other side of the clearing strode a tall, menacing figure. His red hair and green tint skin was familiar. _Ganon!_ Link realized with a jolt. The man wore different clothes than when Link had seen him in Din's trial, but even more confusing were his features. His face seemed narrower, younger, less wrinkled; his shoulders less broad; his arms more powerful. But it was still Ganon.

Flash

The forest was burning around him, rich trees crumbling into glowing piles of ashes at every turn. The smoke was stifling, making Link's eyes sting and water painfully. Coughing violently, he fell to his knees, vainly trying to find some oxygen to ease his screaming lungs.

Around him, trees were popping as the life within them was seared away by the inferno. Link barely managed to roll out the way in time to avoid a blazing tree branch falling upon him. The red hot leaves whipped him in the face as he rolled, causing him to cry out in pain, but there was no one to hear him. His face blistered, and his mind reeled. In desperation, he crawled along the ground with his eyes closed, hopelessly searching for some sort of relief.

As he crawled, his hand brushed against something soft. He opened his eyes in surprise and squinted through the smoke. It was the body of the girl, even more mangled and grotesque than before. Her once green hair had shriveled into a stringy mass atop her charred head, and much of her burned skin was peeling off from the fire.

Link yelled in horror and rolled away from the body. Heart beating, he drug himself across the ground until he collapsed from exhaustion and oxygen starvation. _I'm going to die here!_

"ANSWER MY PROBLEM." The Goddess' voice exploded in his head. He swung his head around wildly, searching for the source of her words. Above him, a giant branch snapped, falling off of the tree. White hot fire trailed behind it as it plummeted toward Link.

He screamed and threw his arms above his head as the flaming mass of wood neared his body.

Flash

He was in a town. It seemed like a page out of a storybook. All the buildings were wood and had thatched roofs made of tightly woven bundles of thatch. People walked around him hurriedly, each with someplace to go, but every one of them with a bright smile on their face.

All of the town's occupants had, in Link's opinion, curious garb. Most of the women had ankle length skirts of various browns and greens with cotton blouses wafting languidly in the breeze. The men, on the other hand, wore loose pants that only came down to their calves, cotton shirts, and most had donned leather or wool vests. Many also had on some sort of straw hat to keep the sun from their eyes.

Link could only spy a few dozen houses, but regardless, the area was bustling with activity. Running freely around the dirt road between people's legs were little chickens that Link recognized as cuccos. Occasionally somebody would trip over one of the small birds, inciting uproarious laughter from both the victim and the townspeople around him. Looking up into the bright daylight sky, Link was surprised to see a barren mountain looming over the town. Thick smoke periodically found its way out of the top of the peak, only to dissipate into the blue sky.

The townsfolk didn't seem perturbed at all by the imminent threat that an active volcano posed on their lives. Perhaps it wasn't a menace after all.

A few yards away, a vendor began laughing with a patron about the crop season. Somewhere else in town, a girl began singing in a bright voice. Yet another voice of laughter joined the medley of sounds at the sight of a plump old lady chasing a group of boys around the square. She wielded her broom like a sword, yelling after them for some trivial misdemeanor. All around him, Link could hear sounds of merriment and communion. Never before had Link seen so many people so happy together.

Flash

Dust blew across the now abandoned town. Doors hung open, fragments of shattered windows littered the ground, and the vendor's stalls were smashed into heaps of timber. _What happened?_

In the grey sky above Link, the volcano spat out a handful of red hot magma.

Suddenly, the eerie silence was broken by a woman's scream. Down the street before Link, a lady burst out of a small house, quickly followed by two monstrous figures. Link's eyes widened unbelievably; they were covered in scales. They were the size of a large man, and stood on their back legs, but they looked more like giant lizards than men. The front of their faces jutted out sickeningly into a slimy mouthful of jagged teeth. Long tails hung behind them, and a long line of off-white spikes ran up their backs. Each scaled hand only had three fingers, but the long, claw-like fingernails could only be made for ripping through the flesh and bone of their victims.

A high, screechy noise escaped their mouths, pitch jumping up and down unintelligibly. It had a familiarity to it. Was it laughter?

Still screaming, the woman tore down the street toward where Link was standing. She didn't seem to see him though; her manic eyes slid right past him. Behind her, the scaled monsters leapt forward with inhuman strength, jumping off of ground and building alike in their chase. Link could only watch in dread as the woman ran right past him, her eyes closed tight and face twisted in absolute terror.

The woman did not make it three paces past Link before her flight was halted abruptly by a heavily muscled wall. Opening her eyes, she looked up and squealed. Ganon stood before her, dangerous and commanding as ever, sneering impatiently as the woman was grabbed roughly around the arms by the monsters that had been pursuing her. She gasped in pain as their long claws cut rivets into her pale skin.

Turning away, Ganon made an absent gesture with his hand. "Take her and put her with the others." The power in his voice was not lost on the monstrous lizards, and they rushed to obey him.

_Others?_ Link looked around uneasily. _Oh, Goddesses…_ Behind him, where he hadn't before noticed, the townsfolk were chained together in a ragged line. Many of the women held tightly to children, and most of the men were limping or clutching injured limbs. Between each prisoner was a thick iron chain that rattled ominously with every movement.

They were deathly silent, each with a lost look on their face as if the vitality had been sucked out of them. _Why aren't they resisting?_ Link wondered unpleasantly. _They don't even look defiant. What happened to them?_

Toward the end of the line, one of the elderly men collapsed into a miserable heap. Immediately, the two scaled beasts sprang upon him, tearing into his body with their long teeth and dagger-like claws. Those chained to him cried out in horror as they were splattered with bloody flesh and desperately tried to get away from the gruesome sight.

Link threw up onto the sandy ground in front of him, revolted. They were eating the old man alive, his screams muted by the grotesque sounds of the monsters devouring his flesh.

"ANSWER MY QUESTION." Nayru's voice returned, not quite drowning out the sounds coming from the horrifying feast. Link, reeling inwardly at the scene playing out before him, found it difficult to concentrate. Somewhere behind him, he heard Ganon's faint laughter.

_Ganon!_ His hatred for the demonic man was thrust to the forefront of his mind.

"He needs to be stopped!" Link yelled, vainly trying to yell over the ever more piercing sounds of the monster's meal. "Make it stop!" he was on his knees now, both hands tight to his ears.

"HOW?"

Flash

Around Link stretched a vast field. The lush green grass sparkled in the sunlight and colorful flowers dotted the landscape. In the distance to his right was a small hill with a ranch atop it. Far to his left were the high stone walls of an archaic castle. Long flags flapped along the battlements, and every so often Link caught the sparkle of the sun reflecting off of an armored sentry.

A gust of wind blew through the open field, folding the tall grass into wide waves of beautiful greens and golds, and launching dandelion spores into the air to dance majestically through the sky.

Link raised his arms and twirled around gaily, as if controlling the spiraling wind.

"HOW CAN GANON BE STOPPED?"

Flash

Link was in the same field, and through it blew the same wind. Instead of bright sunshine though, the sky was now filled with faded stars. In the distance, the small light of the castle's main gate twinkled out as the drawbridge was shut for the night. The full moon provided Link with only enough light to see faded outlines of the field around him, and his eyes darted around nervously, adjusting to the darkness.

He jumped at a small movement from the direction of the ranch. His heart beat faster as a figure appeared out the darkness. Should he run?

Link breathed a deep sigh of relief when he recognized the figure as being a little girl, maybe twelve years old. It was difficult to tell in the dim light, but Link thought that she looked almost as nervous as he felt. She carried a basket at her side full of what Link assumed were milk bottles, and cowboy boots peeked out from under her skirt.

Obviously trying to settle her rising nerves, the girl pursed her lips and began to whistle a merry tune. As the pitch rose and fell, even Link's anxiousness melted away into nothing. However, his unease soon returned. Why was such a small girl out so late?

She screamed, the shrill girlish voice resonating throughout the dark field. It looked as if she'd snagged her foot on a weed. Whimpering, she tugged wildly at her leg, but all she succeeded in doing was pulling the plant out slowly by the roots. It didn't let go, and the roots stretched further and further. The more she tugged, the more of the plant emerged, until almost three feet of the odd weed stretched behind her.

Link gasped as the earth exploded outward where the plant had been grasping the ground. Out from the disrupted soil burst a humanoid monster. As the dirt fell away from its frail body, white bone began to show. It was a horrifying scene, dark leathery flesh clung to ivory bone that made up the creature's body, and the front of its skull jutted out into rows and rows of small teeth.

The stench itself was intoxicating. Death and decay wafted freely from the animated corpse with more potency than Link could have ever imagined. It was as if the skeleton was still rotting.

Screaming uncontrollably, the girl collapsed onto the ground, trying vainly to free her leg from where the creature's skeletal fingers had grasped it. Her eyes grew wild as she thrashed back and forth, but it was no use.

Silently, the skeleton began to tow the girl back toward the hole it had emerged from. The child's screams ceased as she slid over the soil, her face contorted sickeningly into a look of pure horror.

Link found tears running down his cheeks. _Why is this happening?_

"HOW CAN GANON BE STOPPED?" Nayru's voice asked. Link fell to his knees helplessly as one of the girl's legs disappeared beneath the soil. Her bleeding nails dug into the ground, desperately trying to escape.

"I will stop him!" Link yelled, burying his face in his hands.

"YOU ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH," the Goddess' voice intoned as even more of the girl was wrenched underground. Soon, all that was left of her broken body was her face and arms. Link cringed at the look in the girl's eyes. They were filled with unimaginable horror. Her chin sunk into the dirt, then her mouth, then her eyes.

"NO!" Link cried out as the rest of her face was pulled under. All that remained were her thrashing arms, and soon even those went still and disappeared.

Flash

Clouds blew past Link, chased by the cool wind. He was in the sky, closer to the bright sun than he'd ever been before. Far below him he could see the ocean tossing and turning like an untamable beast, but what did it matter? Up here, the sky was life.

Whoosh. Past him soared a giant bird. Link's breath caught in his throat; it looked more like a man than a bird.

Whoosh. Another flew past, and another. A closer look revealed them to actually be wearing clothes. And were those arms and legs beneath the feathers? It was as if men had suddenly grown wings and taken to the sky!

More and more of the bird-people appeared until dozens of them dotted the sky, flying in circles around Link and performing dazzling flips and dives in the air. The aerial dance was breathtaking, and Link quickly lost track of the time watching the beautiful display. Not once did one of the performers collide or lessen their speed. They were dancing to a song that only they could hear.

A deafening gunshot rang out through the air. To his right, one of the flying people exploded in a burst of blood and feathers. Somebody screamed and in a frenzy of feathery bodies, the flock took off in every direction, trying futilely to escape the unending gunshots that filled the air.

Bang! An explosion of feathers. Bang! Another. Soon, the bodies of a once beautiful people fell through the sky around Link like red rain, showering him in carnage.

"I need to protect them!" Link screamed at the sky, desperately pleading with the Goddesses.

"YOU COULDN'T EVEN PROTECT YOUR OWN FAMILY," Nayru replied.

Flash

Link didn't need more than a moment to realize where he was. He was home. Smiling, he gazed around himself at his foyer, happy to finally be somewhere that he recognized. From the direction of the kitchen, Link could hear the sounds of somebody singing, somebody familiar. _Sam?_

The doorbell rang. "Just a minute!" Sam called out. "I'm coming!" Wiping his hands dry on his apron, Sam emerged from the kitchen and walked past Link to open the door.

_It's Sam! He's alive!_ _He's—_ Sam opened the old door, and in walked Link. "No…" Link whispered realizing where and when he was. "No! Sam, that's not me!" he yelled as Sam returned to the kitchen, followed by the dark version of himself. Link ran in after them. "Sam!" he screamed, but Sam couldn't hear him. None of them could hear him. He was a ghost, forced to witness these unimaginable horrors over and over.

Cutting celery, Sam talked to the dark Link for a minute before moving over to the fridge. "No," Link murmured helplessly as the creature walked over and wrapped his hand around the knife that Sam had been using. "Sam…" The shadow plunged the knife deep into Sam's back, piercing all the way through his chest.

Link couldn't close his eyes; this wasn't a dream; he wasn't going to wake up. The tears in Sam's eyes as he died, the smile on the dark Link's face; it was all real.

_You couldn't even save your own family,_ the Goddess' words echoed through his mind.

"No!" Link cried out. "I'm stronger now!"

"NOTHING HAS CHANGED."

Flash

Stone walls, a thick fur rug, a high backed chair in front of a roaring fire that warmed the cold night air drifting in through the open window. In the chair, a massive man adorned with a regal red robe and an ornate golden crown. On the rug before him sat a little girl gazing into the fire. Her white dress and long blonde hair seemed vaguely familiar.

Suddenly, a knife in the darkness, a scream for help, and a surge of blood leaking out from the already crimson robe.

Link gritted his teeth. How much of this could he take? Every tragedy that he faced cut him deeper and deeper. He wanted to help them; he wanted to save them, but Nayru was right, nothing had changed.

Link held his hands to his head, trying to calm his throbbing mind. _For them I need to be more._

Flash. A mail carrier with both his legs bent backward, writhing on the grass. Flash. A dead horse and it's rider rotting in the desert. Flash. A man screaming in pain on the torture table.

With every new scene, Link felt a deeper and deeper pain. He tried to block out the horror, but he couldn't. It didn't just disappear.

Flash. Flash. Flash. Link grunted. _For them I need to be more._ Flash. Flash. Flash. Link screamed.

"For them I need to be the Hero of Time!"


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Wisdom plenty…"

"For them I need to be the Hero of Time!" Link's words rang out among the mountaintop meadow. He was back in Nayru's Solace. The trial was over.

Exhausted, he fell onto his hands and knees. His entire body suddenly felt twice as heavy, and his head swam with the lingering images of what he'd witnessed. Panting, Link glanced up at the Goddess' statue; the orb was glowing brightly.

"YOU HAVE PASSED MY TEST," Nayru exclaimed. As always, her voice sent dozens of emotions rocketing through Link's body, this time washing away some of the despair brought on by the trial.

"I—I passed?" Link asked slowly, barely trusting himself to speak.

"TRUE WISDOM IS NOT CONTINGENT ON PAST EXPERIENCE, BUT RATHER ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FUTURE," the Goddess replied. "BY ACCEPTING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HERO OF TIME YOU HAVE SHOWN TRUE WISDOM. WISDOM ENOUGH TO SAVE HYRULE."

Leaning back, Link brought his hands up and studied them thoughtfully. They seemed like somebody else's hands now. They were still his own, but it was as if he had changed into a new person. The painful images that he'd seen had awakened in him yet another reason for completing the Goddess' trials. Without the Hero of Time, even more people would fall victim to Ganon's inhuman cruelty. This was bigger than just him.

Somewhere deep within him though, Link realized that he had not, and would not ever forget about Malon. He was, first and foremost, fighting to save his family, to save Malon.

"YOU HAVE PASSED MY TEST," Nayru repeated.

Just as in Din's Sanctuary, the air around the blue orb began spinning rapidly, condensing toward the statue before suddenly exploding outward in a blinding white light and a fierce gust of wind that knocked Link onto his back.

As the tumult died out, Link was left with a deep sense of peace. A feeling only augmented by the setting sun behind him. _How long have I been up here?_ Link asked himself curiously.

Wearily, Link hoisted himself to his feet and begun the long trek back down the mountain.

Destiny was waiting.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"And ceaseless will wheel turn,"

The rising sun saw Link climbing back over the fence that marked the boundary of the nature reserve. Dropping his book bag and archery equipment to the rocky ground on the other side, Link hoisted himself the rest of the way over and dropped to the gravel beside them. The forest seemed to look different now that he was out of Nayru's Solstice. It looked more…latent, like it had a whole new world hidden underneath the surface.

"Sheik!" Link called out. She was supposed to be waiting for him here. _Hopefully she hasn't disappeared again, _Link thought.

"I am here," Sheik's voice responded from above Link. Looking up, he saw that she was sitting on a large branch about a dozen feet off the ground. One leg hung over the side of the branch and her back rested up against the tree trunk.

"I passed Nayru's test," Link said after an awkward moment. The Sheikah seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

"I know," she replied. Standing up, Sheik dropped to the ground, landing deftly in front of Link. She eyed him for a second, calculatingly. Apparently she saw something she liked though, because she smiled through her veil, the smile reflecting in her eyes.

"Yet again you return changed, one step closer to becoming the hero of prophesy," Sheik said. "Come, you should eat and rest before we head to the last trial."

Link shook his head. "No, we need to get going. There's something I need to take care of before we go any further."

"What?" Sheik asked. Link got the feeling that she already knew the answer.

"Rebecka," Link replied. "I haven't talked to her since—since Sam died. She deserves to know what really happened to him."

"Are you certain?" Sheik asked. "What if she doesn't believe you?"

Link sighed. "It doesn't matter. Sam would want her to know."

It took the two of them most of the day to hike their way back into society. Neither talked much during the journey, Sheik in her normal silence, and Link trying to choose what he was going to say to Rebecka. He still hadn't figured it out by the time that they arrived at her apartment.

"Sheik, don't disappear on me, ok?" Link said as he led them up the stairs to Rebecka's floor. "This'll be easier with you around."

Walking down the hallway, Link spotted Beck's apartment, room 237. Link had only been here twice before, but he still remembered Beck's apartment vividly. Inside there was a small living room connected to a kitchen. On one side of the kitchen was a door that led to the apartment's only bedroom and, beyond that, the bathroom.

Link remembered it as a joyous place; Rebecka had always worked to keep it clean and organized, usually filling the empty kitchen counters with flowers or pictures. She had like to keep the windows open during the summer, letting the fresh air continually flow into the apartment. It was such a refreshing atmosphere.

Link sighed as he walked up to the door. _I need to do this_, he told himself. Tentatively, Link knocked.

It seemed like Link stood there for hours waiting for Rebecka to answer the door. His heart beat rhythmically, like a clock, ticking away precious time. Just as he was about to give up and leave, something moved on the other side of the door.

"Hello?" Rebecka's voice drifted sorrowfully through the door. She spoke softly, and her voice cracking like she had been crying. Her voice was miserable, depressed, lost.

"Beck?" Link asked worriedly. "It's me." The door swung open and Rebecka jumped out, wrapping her arms around Link and sobbing into his hair.

"Link?" she asked, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "Goddesses, I've been so worried! What happened?" She paused, suddenly unsure. "Link, about Sam—"

"I already know," Link cut her off before she started crying again. They were both quiet for a moment, caught up in a haunting vision. Snapping out of her daze, Beck looked up and saw Sheik for the first time. Link couldn't blame her for not noticing the Sheikah earlier, she didn't seem to like being seen. Nervously, Rebecka took a step back.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"It's alright," Link replied soothingly. "She's a—a—she's Sheik," he finished lamely, unsure of what to call the commanding woman beside him. Rebecka quickly invited them both inside and bade them sit on the couch.

Link looked around the apartment sadly; it was so much different than he'd remembered. The windows were shut, the blinds were down, and the normally colorful flowers drooped dejectedly from lack of care and sunshine. A box of old photos lay on one of the end tables, and the floor was littered with forgotten food and dirty tissue. The grayness of the room bothered Link; it was so unlike Beck.

Rebecka fussed over Link's torn clothes for a while, asking him repeatedly if he was hurt and what had happened to him. Finally, she retired to the recliner across the coffee table, wordlessly watching him. The tense pause screamed at Link to explain himself, to tell Rebecka what had really happened to Sam. He steeled himself and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Beck," he began. "I'm so sorry."

Tense hours passed as Link recounted the tale of Sam's death. He began his story with the discovery of the ocarina, not leaving a single detail out, not even the discovery that he was the hero from the Prophecy of Ages. As he continued his narration into the Goddess' trials, he became lost within the painful memories, no longer noticing Beck's stunned reactions. Silence followed the end of his tale. He paused, and then continued hesitantly.

"So—so I'm responsible for Sam's death," Link finished. Tears came unbidden to his eyes, threatening to run down his grimy cheeks. "Because I played the ocarina, he's dead. And I know you might hate me for it, but you deserve to know."

Silence. Rebecka just sat there, tears rolling unhindered down her face. Link's heart broke; he knew exactly how she was feeling. Her life had been uprooted twice now in the last week, and she was just beginning to feel the finality of Sam's departure. Wiping futilely at her wet cheeks, Beck stood up and walked around the coffee table to where Link was sitting. He closed his eyes and braced himself, ready for the inevitable slap, but suddenly he found Rebecka kneeling in front of him with her arms wrapped tightly around his chest. Her long red hair fell over his lap, and sobbing, she buried her face in Link's chest.

"I miss him so much," she wept brokenly. Her fingers clutched at the back of Link's shirt as if grasping at her last reminder of Sam.

"I'm so sorry," Link said softly. How could she ever forgive him? Beck shook her head.

"Sam wouldn't have blamed you," she spoke into Link's shirt, voice cracking. "So neither can I."

Link was stunned. Taking Rebecka's head in his arms, he hugged her tightly. Resting his head upon hers, he let the tears that he had been holding in flow freely. Link didn't know how long they sat like that, embracing each other sadly, but it was past dark by the time they broke apart.

Rebecka tried to argue Link into staying the night, but his determination to keep moving quickly overcame her objections. She could see his resolve, and understood what he was fighting for. Before he left with Sheik, she pulled him into another hug.

"Link, please get Malon back," she beseeched him sorrowfully. Link brought his hand up and put it on her shoulder comfortingly.

"I promise that no matter how long it takes, no matter what gets in my way, I will save her." He spoke from the heart, his promise to Rebecka was no different than the silent promise that he had already made to Malon. _I will get her back._ Embracing Rebecka one last time, Link turned and strode off into the darkness after Sheik.

They didn't walk far before settling down for the night in a local park. As late as it was, they decided to forgo a fire and simply get some rest. As Link lay his head down on the green grass, he grasped the book bag that held the manuscript that Malon had given him. He held it tight to his chest, recalling all the fun times that they had shared together. He repeated the promise that he had made over and over again in his head until he fell asleep. _I will save you._

Link awoke to the sun in his eyes, its bright rays peering out from over the horizon. Sitting up, Link was not surprised to see that Sheik had left sometime during the night, not even leaving a bent blade of grass to tell that she had ever been there at all. With a sigh, Link forced his tired body to his feet.

Walking over to a nearby bench, Link sat down and looked around lazily. He could spot rows of houses through the thin line of trees surrounding the park, but the windows and yards were motionless; it was still too early for most people to be up. It was odd to think that, not that long ago, Link had been just another person, just another house on the block. Now he was caught up in a fight for the safety of all mankind.

Link craved that once-held anonymity that had shaped his former life. Before Zelda, he had been just another boy, but now that he was the hero of prophecy, he desired nothing more than for things to go back to the way they were.

_Things can never go back_. Even if he somehow managed to defeat Ganon and save Malon, Link knew that his life would forever be changed. Sam wasn't coming back, and Link doubted that his journey as the Hero of Time would end until his dying day.

Watching the birds float around the blue sky, Link tried to imagine himself growing up to have a normal life, to have a family, a job, a car, but the vision kept slipping away like mist through his fingers.

"Things may never return to the way they were before," Sheik's voice said from behind him. Link nodded sadly. "But the Goddesses have not forgotten you."

Link sat on the bench for a while, thinking about what life was going to be like after the whole ordeal was over. Eventually, Sheik walked around and sat next to him, silently staring off into the sky as Link was doing. Together, they sat, oblivious to all around them.

"Come," Sheik said, finally standing up. Out of her cloak she pulled out a loaf of bread and some apples. "Eat while we move. Perhaps we can make it to Farore's Refuge before dark."

As usual, they traveled in silence, Sheik leading Link through the wild toward some unknown destination. They traveled west this time, out of Hylia and into the wetlands that marked the county limits. Most people stayed well away from the swampy terrain, distrustful of the scummy ponds and damp earth. But as they proceeded, Link found himself enjoying the wet forest. His feet made a squelching sound with every step, and occasionally he would see a frog or a small snake scurry off into the underbrush. Even the air tasted different. It seemed heavier, richer, more full of life.

After hours of walking, they stopped in front of the largest pond that Link had seen so far. In fact, Link thought that it could almost be called a lake. Pond scum coated the outer edges of the water, and lily pads dotted the pond's surface. The sun was still fairly high in the sky before him, and Link assumed it to be about mid-afternoon.

"Farore's Refuge lies there," Sheik said, pointing to a small wooded island that Link's eyes had glided right over. "In my time, this was at the floor of a vast lake, dozens of miles across." She glanced at Link. "I suppose that we are lucky then, that the lake has gone dry."

_This was a lake? _Link asked himself, looking around in wonder. He couldn't imagine a body of water as enormous as the wetlands they had been traveling through, and as far as he knew, the terrain continued like this for hours, even days westward.

"So how do we get there?" Link asked, gazing across at the small island. In answer, Sheik walked to the edge of the water and moved aside a thick clump of cattails to expose a decrepit looking dingy. Link shuddered inwardly as he surveyed the decaying rowboat. He was amazed that it was still afloat, and seriously doubted its ability to get them across the water safely. However, Link knew better than to question the Sheikah's judgment.

Without a word, Link walked forward and jumped inside the boat, picking up the two damp oars that lay in the hull of the wooden craft. Carefully, he set his bow and quiver on the bench next to him, silently praying that they stay dry.

The long row out to the island was quiet except for the occasional marsh-bird and the soft sounds of the oars dipping into and out of the water. During the journey, Link couldn't help but think back to the other two Goddess' trials. In one he'd been forced to watch as Ganon once again ripped his family away from him, and in the other he'd seen the heart wrenching demise of entire nations. The thought of yet another trial like the first two was enough to make him wince.

As the boat neared the shore, Sheik leaned forward. "Link, remember what you're fighting for. Not just Malon, but the entire world is depending on your courage."

Link felt a weight settle on his shoulders, but he sat up straighter and bore it with intensified resolve. He was the only one who could do this. He had promised that he would save her.

Jumping out the boat, Link hoisted the dingy onto the muddy shore where it would not drift away while he was gone.

"I will be here when you return," Sheik said. Link just nodded, retrieving his bow and quiver from the hull and swinging them onto his back. The bag with Malon's book already hung from his side; he hadn't gone without it since Sheik had given it back to him.

Without looking back, Link walked off into the trees toward the center of the island. It did not take Link very long to reach his destination. In just minutes he found himself hiking into what could only be Farore's Refuge.

The alcove had been created by the trees growing around him, and above him lush, overlapping leaves, each bigger than Link's hand, cut out most light except for a few bright rays poking through the foliage. The area was large enough to house a few cars, and the damp, earth was covered with deep green moss. Rotting logs lay haphazardly across the ground, and out from the decomposing wood grew wild ferns and oddly colored flowers.

The ground itself, although inert, seemed to teem with life, and all around him Link could hear the sounds of different birds and animals. The screech of an owl, the croak of a frog, the hiss of a snake; they all sung as part of the song of Farore's Refuge.

Even the air seemed fuller, smelled more lush. He could taste the swamp's vitality with every breath.

Next to one of the decaying logs stood the Goddess' statue, and in her hands, the mystical orb. It was a dull green, and its foggy depths reflected the living atmosphere around it. Link took another step forward, and the sphere came to life.

Blinding green light exploded out from the orb, erupting into the clearing with an intense gust of wind. Both the light and wind quickly faded away, but it left behind a thin layer of white fog covering the ground. The mist swirled around Link's legs teasingly, cooling his tired feet through his shoes.

"LINK, WHY HAVE YOU ENTERED MY REFUGE?" The orb pulsed green with every one of Farore's words, illuminating the alcove in vigorous emerald light. The Goddess' words were full of life and energy. Vitality, reflected beautifully in the lush glade, filled both her words and Link's heart with life. His suppressed fears immediately melted away, and his aching body felt rejuvenated.

"I need your blessing," Link replied. So far, the interaction with Farore had been the exact same as with the other two sacred deities.

"YOU DESIRE A BLADE MEANT ONLY FOR THE CHOSEN HERO OF COURAGE," Farore intoned, her powerful voice resonating in every edifice of Link's mind. "YOU THINK YOURSELF COURAGEOUS ENOUGH TO WEILD SUCH A SWORD?" Her voice sent Link's spirit soaring. Heart racing, adrenaline pumping, he was energized.

"Yes," he replied, suddenly confident.

"THEN YOU MUST OVERCOME MY TRIAL AND EARN MY BLESSING." Her voice was like a drug to him, creating in him an unexplainable ecstasy that grew with every word. He was content; he was confident; he was excited, ecstatic to be alive.

"ARE YOU PREPARED?" Farore asked. Without a moment's hesitation, Link responded.

"Yes!"


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"But balance terrible originate,"

Link braved himself for Farore's trial, expecting to be thrown headfirst into another hallucination, but nothing happened. He was still in the swampy alcove, still standing a few yards in front of the Goddess' child-like statue. Nothing had changed. _Did something go wrong? _Link wondered.

A loud rustle of leaves. Link spun around, pulling his bow off of his back and knocking an arrow in one smooth motion. His muscles tensed, preparing to move at a moment's notice. Something was wrong.

More rustling. Out of the bushes stepped somebody very familiar. "Malon?" Link lowered his bow in disbelief, did she escape? A thousand frantic questions ran through his mind. "Malon, are you ok? How did you get here?"

"I'm fine!" she said with a dazzling smile a shake of her head, and indeed, she looked it. Her gleaming hair looked as if she had just combed it, her smile was genuine, and even her clothes seemed untouched by the swamp around her. He couldn't find it in himself to be concerned with how she had gotten here, all that mattered was that she _was _here.

Another rustling from his right. Link spun, again raising his bow. A small bush trembled ominously, slowly getting darker as a shadow fell on it. Darker, darker.

A black figure formed out of the shadows. The creature was clothed in a piercing black tunic, and upon its black hair was a long dark hat that reached halfway down its back. Out from its otherwise featureless face shone two blood red eyes. Evil, malevolent eyes that depicted nothing save hatred and bloodlust.

Staring into those eyes, Link began to shake with loathing. The creature that had murdered his brother stood before him tauntingly. Drawing his bowstring, he took aim at the monster. He would end it now, no matter that he didn't posses the Master Sword. The creature deserved to burn in hell.

Yelling unintelligibly, Link loosed his arrow. It sailed straight, but before it could reach its target, the shadow monster moved. Sprinting with demon-like speed, it covered the distance between it and Malon in mere seconds. Malon shrieked as she was carried to the ground by the creature.

The two figures rolled along the moist, foggy earth for a few feet before jumping to their feet and scrambling away from each other. Except now, the shadow monster wasn't anywhere to be seen. Instead, two Malon's stood there, staring at each other incredulously.

Link tensed. The monster had taken Malon's appearance, and Link had lost track of who was who during the struggle. Hesitantly, Link drew and knocked yet another arrow, pointing it first at one Malon, then at the other.

"Link, it's me!" the Malon to his left screamed in his direction, not once taking her eyes off of her twin.

"No! Please Link, it's me! I'm Malon!" the other yelled. Link kept his bow in the air, confusedly aiming somewhere between them. His mind was cloudy for some reason. He couldn't think straight. Which one was really Malon?

Time seemed to slow. The long red hair, the smooth tan cheeks, the captivating brown eyes. Down to the dark leather cowboy boots, they were both Malon. _But one of them isn't,_ Link told himself. _One of them is a monster._

Link's eyes darted back and forth quicker and quicker. His stomach churned sickeningly, and his heart began racing. Anxiety turned to hysteria. He felt strange inside, like his opportunity to do something was slipping away from him. Something terrible was going to happen to Malon if he didn't get involved.

"Link!" the two Malon's cried out in unison. Slowly, ever so slowly, Link turned toward the Malon on his left, bow in hand. He was shaking violently now, horrified at the thought of harming the actual Malon. Dazed, he drew his bowstring. In his mind, he saw the arrow flying through the air and ripping through Malon's heart. He saw the twinkling light of life fade out of her eyes as the blood drained from her broken body.

"Link?" the Malon before him whispered fearfully. He trembled, bile rising in his throat.

"I can't do this. Anything but this," he whimpered. In a stupor, he repeated himself over and over. "I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this." His wavered, and his bow began to drop. _But if I don't do anything…_

With a dry sob, Link lowered his bow the rest of the way. The arrow fell to the ground silently, lying flat along the damp earth.

"Weakling!" the Malon in front of him spat. A wide, toothy grin appeared on her face, a grin that never once touched her eyes. She began to laugh, a shrill, shrieking laugh that erupted out of her grotesquely contorted mouth.

"No!" Link screamed as the monster dashed toward the real Malon; it moved so fast that Link could barely follow it with his eyes. Appearing suddenly behind Malon, it pulled back its hand and thrust its fingers into her back.

Link's screams of horror blended together with Malon's scream of pain. Her normally tan face turned pale, and red droplets began falling off of her blood-soaked shirt onto the ground. The shape-shifting creature violently wrenched its fingers out of her back, bringing with them a new wave of blood. The look on the monster's face was one of ecstasy, satisfaction.

Gasping hopelessly for air, Malon collapsed onto the ground, the life draining out of her. Slowly, her body stopped moving, and the blood stopped flowing.

With one last heart-wrenching scream, Link fell to his knees. As he gazed upon Malon's lifeless body, his mind slowly became numb. It was as if he were falling into a dark hole, losing himself within his own psyche. Visions from his past began to flash before him. Playing at the lake, going to school, riding bikes together. The emotional pain was too great; he was slowly losing his grip on reality.

"YOU HAVE FAILED MY TEST."


	16. Part 3, Chapter 15

Part 3

The Hero

* * *

Chapter 15

"Courage proven too late,"

It is only during extreme peril that people truly understand themselves. In those last minutes before death, a person can look back on his life without bias, without prejudice. The self-pleasing lens of false belief that covers the eyes falls away, exposing the putrid stink of existence in all its fetid glory. For people will always examine themselves as superior, no matter the situation. It is this lens that breeds corruption and discrimination; without it, all would truly be equal in the eye of the beholder.

That is why those that have pushed the brink of life and dipped their toes into the dark expanse will always see the world in a different light. The film has been ripped away and they have been forced to confront their own evils and shortcomings. This is the key to enlightenment.

Heroes are made by such understanding. They are not greater than the common man; that is a sign of discrimination. Rather, a hero is one has assumed his place in the midst of others, taking on their troubles as his own. How can one be a hero if he believes himself superior? Pride is the downfall of even the most esteemed man.

The road to heroism is not the watershed event of some life-altering spark. Just because one has removed the false lens from his eye does not mean he is thoroughly moral. It is not enough to see the inadequacies within; that is just the beginning. Such a man must act upon what he sees, cleansing his own corrupt nature.

Yet heroes are not chosen through unbiased circumstance or random appeal. Farore, life's artisan, moves deftly through the world, sifting through the masses and into the hearts of those with promise. Her courage falls upon only a select few, imbuing them with hope and strength. Theirs is a sacred vocation, righteous and uplifting. Between them is created a fraternal bond, a divine kinship. They are Farore's children and shall forever have a seat in her celestial house.

Rebirth then, is tantamount to this transformation. Rebirth of the soul, rebirth of the mind, even rebirth of the body. Like a butterfly blossoming out of a misshapen cocoon, the emergence of a hero is both beautiful and powerful, coloring the lives of those in witness with profound effect. Never will the world be the same.

A hero has been reborn.

* * *

"YOU HAVE FAILED MY TEST." Farore's powerful words wrapped around Link, pulling his broken mind back from the brink of insanity. A sickening shudder ran through him as he knelt on the damp earth; he had almost lost himself. The sight of Malon's lifeless body was too much to bear.

The alcove was empty now, Malon and the shadow monster disappearing with the end of Farore's trial. It seemed so obvious to him now that what he's seen had only been part of the Goddess' test, but at the time—at the time it had seemed more than real.

Realizing that he was still on his knees, Link tried to stand, but was forced back to the ground by the shudders that tore through his body. He was still reeling from the sight of Malon's broken corpse.

"I—I could have saved her," Link whispered hopelessly as he knelt on the ground before the Goddess' statue. The convulsions, while slowly receding, seemed to tear at his heart.

"NO," Farore's voice replied, louder than thunder, yet more beautiful than emerald. "YOU LACKED THE COURAGE TO SAVE HER."

"That was an impossible choice!" he cried out with a sob. Anger and pain gave him the energy to raise his head. "It was impossi—"

"COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR, BUT THE ABILITY TO TRUST ONESELF NO MATTER THE ODDS," Farore interrupted. Link's taxed body and mind were screaming for rest. His arms were beginning to grow heavy, and his vision fuzzy. He had taken too much, been pushed too far past his limit.

"YOU HAVE FAILED MY TEST," the Goddess said as his vision dimmed. He vaguely felt the air swirling around him as Farore's presence left the swampy alcove. Still on his knees, Link teetered for a moment, then collapsed onto the damp, mossy earth. Finally, with the Goddess' words echoing in his head, exhaustion overtook him. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Farore's voice was softly accompanied by one his own that spoke with spiteful reproach.

"You have failed her."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Hero that is no hero will he be,

Nameless, faceless, lost,"

Link gradually awoke to the melodious sounds of a harp. He was laying on his back, still within the alcove of Farore's Refuge, a blanket underneath him to keep him dry. Opening his eyes, he stared up into the night sky, silently savoring the warmness given off by crackling fire next to him.

_Malon, I'm so sorry._ He felt like crying inside; he had let her down. Without the Master Sword, he couldn't win against the evil that had taken her. A single tear slid down his cheek, and he closed his eyes in sorrow. _Please forgive me, _he begged her silently.

The music drifting to him from the harp on the other side of the fire stirred something within him, giving him a small tug on his memory. Sheik sat across the camp on one of the rotting logs that littered the alcove, apparently engrossed in her music. Link however, couldn't find it in himself to care. Despair and hopelessness drained him of all energy; it made is limbs feel heavy, and his head cloudy.

What had gone wrong? He was so sure that he was the Hero of Time, but then how had he failed Farore's trial? And what about the prophecy? Had Sheik been wrong all along?

The Sheikah's harp playing died out, and she tucked the instrument beneath her cloak. "What will you do now?" she asked. Link was quiet for a moment, lost in thought.

"Nothing has changed," he finally said. "I won't give up on her, even if it's hopeless."

In the morning, they returned to the mainland in silence. Link had not managed to fall asleep again the rest of the night, silently reliving all the good times that they'd had together. With all his soul, he wanted to go and watch the sunset together one more time, without worries, without cares.

It had been easy for Link to tell Sheik that he would still fight to save Malon without the Master Sword, but the more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that unless she was freed, what was the point? He would die a thousand times over to free her, but his death would be meaningless without her release.

As they stepped off of the rotting dingy, Sheik approached Link, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You can't defeat him Link," the Sheikah said. "Just go home. Forget that any of this ever happened."

Suddenly consumed by anger, Link spun, swatting Sheik's hand away. "Forget?!? How could I forget?!? Your _Zelda_ has torn away everything that was ever important to me. Sam dead…Malon kidnapped…all for the sake of what? Some bogus prophecy?" Link was yelling now, his voice filling the swampy beach. "I can not—I will not forget. And I will not give up!" With that Link spun, taking a few steps into the trees and underbrush surrounding the pond.

"I am sorry," Sheik said. The tone of her voice alone made Link hesitate. "I've had you fighting this war for me, and I haven't even been entirely honest about myself."

_What does that mean? _Link asked himself.

"I've been lying to you. It's been necessary in order to hide my identity from Ganon, but now that there is no Hero of Time to stand between him and Hyrule, I suppose that hiding is just delaying the inevitable. You deserve to know the truth."

Sheik, taking a step back, made a quick hand sign, and a flash of light blinded Link. By the time he regained his vision, Sheik was gone; in her place stood the most magnificent woman that Link had ever seen. Her long golden hair fell halfway down her back, not a strand out of place, and her long eyelashes stuck out from beautiful blue eyes. She wore a spotless white dress, and around her waist hung a blue sash gilded with golden symbols. White gloves covered her forearms, and her headdress reminded Link strongly of a crown.

She was the essence of beauty, the woman from his visions, the source of his pain. She was Princess Zelda.

Link was lost for words. How long had she been traveling with him, and he unaware to it. He'd wanted to talk to her, wanted to meet her, and now she appeared out of practically nowhere? Why hadn't she let him know before?

The princess gracefully walked up to him, laying a hand on his shoulder much like Sheik had just done.

"I do not alone contain the power required to confront Ganon," she said softly. "So I chose to disguise myself and guide you until such a time as we could confront him together." Zelda looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "I still do not understand what happened in Farore's Refuge. Have the Goddesses really forsaken us?"

Her gaze, despairing and regretful, slowly slid back down to meet with Link's, and tears began to blossom in her strong blue eyes.

"Link, I can never account for bringing this all upon you," she continued. "Please, go home. I cannot accompany you if you chose to go any further."

Link took a step back, Zelda's hand sliding off of his shoulder. A lone tear made its way down her rosy cheek.

"You're asking me to forsake everything that I've been fighting for," Link said roughly. "You're asking me to abandon Malon." He shook his head, drilling Zelda with his unblinking gaze. Turning on his heel, he strode off into the swamp.

"Goodbye Zelda," he said, holding his hand in the air.

"Link…" she whispered after him as he disappeared among the thick trees. Where he was going, she didn't dare follow.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Surrender is his last resort,

Prevented by love is his cost."

In the great pattern woven by those three that carry the sacred triforce, the Temple of Time has always been a central theme. It is the Temple of Time that perpetuates the Cycle of Eternity, it is the Temple of Time that houses the blade of evil's bane, and it will be the Temple of Time that sets the stage for the conclusion of the oracle's prophecy. Time governs all.

Malon squirmed against the thick iron chains that bound her to the pillar at her back. From where she had been chained, she had a decent view of the strange building she found herself in. There were no rooms that she could see, just one huge chamber surrounded by tall pillars that grew all the way into the high vaulted ceiling. At the end of the chamber to her left, were the large oaken doors that she vaguely remembered entering through. To her right, the chamber stretched into an even taller section with walls covered by fantastic stained-glass windows. On the floor underneath the windows, set in the middle of a large dais, was a sword. _What is this place?_ she wondered.

Reluctantly, her gaze drifted back to the shadowy creature that had brought her here. It stood, motionless, in the center of the chamber before her. The creature's disgusting black body seemed to absorb the light around it, sucking in all the sun's rays before they could reach the floor.

Thinking back, Malon couldn't remember much of the weeks since her kidnapping. It was mostly a blur, faded images drifting in a out of her broken memory. Had she been drugged? _What's going on?_

_Link!_ It was like a small piece in the jigsaw puzzle that was her memory had slid back into place. She remembered that there had been something about Link, something important. Closing her eyes, Malon desperately clawed through her memory, trying to recall what had happened to her right before her kidnapping.

_I went to Link's house…then what? _As she dug further and further into her memory, images began to drift back to her: opening the front door, Link flying through the air, his body covered in blood, a second Link with horrible red eyes.

Tears came to her eyes as she remembered more. The dark Link had hauled her off, leaving Link, his body bleeding and broken, for death. And death had probably not been long in coming, Malon realized. She trembled, thinking back to how horribly he had been hurt. Not even the best doctors in the world could have saved him.

Malon wept silently, sagging against the chains. Why did this happen? Link had seemed upset before he had even left her ranch. Had he known that something was wrong? She shook her head, it didn't matter anymore. Link is dead, and probably Sam too.

"So…you are coming out of it…just like Master Ganon said you would." The dark Link had finally taken notice of her from its position at the center of the chamber. The unsettling blood-red gaze that it gave her made Malon squirm, but she didn't look away. She wouldn't give it the satisfaction.

"What did you do to me?" she yelled out. "Why can't I remember anything?" The creature laughed.

"Oh…Master Ganon put a nice little…spell on you to keep you…from being any trouble," it replied.

Malon didn't understand. _A spell? Is it mocking me?_

Suddenly the sky darkened, covering the building in deep shadow. A great gust of wind blew through the trees, making a keening wail and causing the windows to shake violently. Then, as if by magic, dark smoke began wafting through the rattling windows and underneath the tall oaken doors, collecting ominously in the center of the chamber.

The smoke condensed, forming into the shape of a man. Malon's heart beat quickly, and she found it hard to breathe. _Who…what…_

"Master Ganon," the shadow intoned, bowing deeply.

_Ganon? _Malon asked herself. _Where have I heard that before? _Her eyes widened. _The Legend of Zelda! But this guy can't really be Ganon, can he?_

The man, regardless of his actual name, was enormous, and so intimidating that it sent shivers down Malon's spine. He had short red hair with a beard to match, and much of his body was covered in black plated armor embellished with pure gold. His dark cape hung clear to the ground, and the maroon design on the back was mysteriously eerie. And his eyes, his eyes were hard as rock and cold as ice, a broken landscape void of any emotion save hatred and pride.

Ganon, if that was indeed his name, turned to the shadow creature condescendingly. "He is coming."

"Finally!" the dark Link replied, eyeing the door as if expecting the man to walk in at that very second. "I was beginning…to get tired of waiting."

"He is always so predictable," Ganon said as if to himself. "I knew if we kept the girl that he would eventually find his way here."

Malon was having difficulty following the conversation. She thought that she must be the girl that they had referred to, but then who was the other person? The one that was coming?

The dark Link gestured in Malon's direction. "Should we…kill her?" Its eyes twinkled maliciously. "He would…lose hope." Malon squirmed desperately against the chains, but it was no use. It they decided to kill her, she would be helpless to stop them.

Ganon seemed to consider the idea for a moment, fingers stroking his beard, but he eventually shook his head. "No, I have a feeling that she will be useful to us yet."

His cold stare slid over her, sending shudders through her body. _He can't be human! _she thought. _No human can be this powerful!_

Silently, the pair turned to face the tall doors of the building, waiting for whatever unfortunate man they had been talking about. Malon, on the other hand, sagged against the chains in relief; she'd thought that she was done for.

It was for what seemed like an eternity that Malon stood chained, just watching, and waiting. Who was so important that two demonic figures as powerful as these would take interest in him? Whoever it was must be extremely powerful, or extremely unfortunate.

After a while, Malon's mind began to drift, and she envisioned a mighty hero walking through the oaken doors to save her. _Might as well wish for the Hero of Time to come for me, and why not vanquish Ganon while he's at it,_ she scoffed. _This isn't the time for daydreaming._

Suddenly, a loud ruckus drifted through the doors from outside. Nobody moved, all intently watching the entrance to the chamber. Slowly, the huge doors began to open, sunlight shone through the opening. Malon squinted through the glare, trying to make out the figure that had entered.

Whoever it was didn't seem at all surprised at what awaited him. He calmly stood there, waiting for somebody to say something. Through the doors, Malon could make out the crumpled bodies of the huge lizards that she suddenly remembered as being the guards to the building, but the figure didn't seem to be carrying any weapons. _And he was still able to defeat the monsters outside?_ Malon wished that she could get a good look at his face.

"You're brave, boy, I'll give you that, but you're a fool for coming here," Ganon said. He laughed maniacally. "You can't possibly hope to defeat me without the Master Sword!"

_The Master Sword?! _Malon gave a start. _Can this guy really be Ganon?_

"Who said anything about fighting you?" the figure asked calmly. There was something familiar about his voice. No, it couldn't be…

"Link?" Malon breathed. She couldn't believe it, how could he still be alive? The blonde youth took a few steps forward, out of the blinding light that had hid him. "Link!" Malon screamed. _What's he doing here?!?_ Malon thought wildly. It was too dangerous, he didn't know what he was up against.

"I'm here," Link continued. "To turn myself in." Silence followed his statement. Malon couldn't believe her ears. What was going on? Throwing back his head, Ganon laughed mirthlessly, the booming sound echoing throughout the chamber.

"Link no!" Malon yelled, drowning out Ganon's laughter. "Run away! Get out of here!" He didn't respond, sparing her no more than a quick glance before returning his unflinching gaze to Ganon.

"I suppose that in return that you expect me to release the girl?" Ganon asked amusedly.

"With me dead, you'll have no purpose for her," Link replied. Ganon let out another evil laugh.

"Fine! I accept your terms!" Still facing Link, Ganon raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. The chains around Malon dissolved away in a burst of smoke, and she fell onto the ground feebly. Resolutely, Link began walking toward Ganon, toward his own death.

"Link, please don't do this," Malon whimpered. Link turned his head, finally acknowledging her. He was different than Malon remembered him, older, sadder. His eyes were full of sorrow and hopelessness.

"I'm sorry Mal," he replied. Malon thought that he might be talking about more than just his imminent death.

Link stopped a few yards in front of Ganon and the shadow creature, waiting. For a moment, they stared at each other, neither blinking nor looking away. Finally, Ganon laughed, bringing his hand up and crooking his finger. Link sailed through the air violently, swinging to a halt at Ganon's side. His feel were still held a few feet off the ground, and it didn't look like he could breathe through Ganon's magic. Calmly, Ganon took Link's chin between his fingers and thrust the youth's head in the direction of the Master Sword.

"See there," Ganon told him. "That sword has forever been the only impediment to me becoming the ruler of this realm."

Malon let out a dry sob as she watched Link hanging there. He was like an ant before Ganon, helpless and feeble. There was nothing that could save him. He was going to die.

"Now it is nothing more than a useless relic," Ganon continued. "In time, I will destroy it, and then I will be invincible." He paused. "I will be the King of Darkness once more."

Without warning, Ganon hurled Link through the air onto the floor between Malon and the Master Sword.

"Link!" Malon cried out helplessly. She knew that there was no escape for him now; there was nothing that she could do. Tears ran freely down her cheeks, why would he do this? Why would he sacrifice his life for hers? She clutched at her breaking heart, vainly trying to stop the pain that was building up inside of her. Through her tears, she saw the shadow creature appear behind Link and violently grab his arms, planting its foot on his back and forcing him into a kneeling position. Link didn't even try to resist.

"This is the end boy," Ganon sneered. "I have won." He slowly raised his hand, palm out, in front of him.

_No! _Malon screamed inside her head. _Please, Goddesses no! _Black energy was collecting in Ganon's hand, dark energy that crackled ominously within a cloudy storm. It was evil.

"May your body forever symbolize my victory!" Ganon yelled, tensing his arm.

For Malon, time seemed to still. She saw the defiant look on Link's face, she saw Ganon's malicious glare, she saw the dark magic that would end Link's life. Never again would she be able to see Link. Never again would they sit, laughing, in Malon's hayloft. Never again would they watch the sun set from their small dock.

Something powerful stirred within Malon. Love, leaking out through her breaking heart, soared through her veins, scouring away all thoughts of helplessness and despair. _I will not let him die for me!_

As Ganon moved, so did Malon. She sprung off the ground, diving in front of Link. Protecting him.

The beam of energy that exploded out of Ganon's hand filled Malon's vision, washing away all else. With it, a thousand red hot knives seemed to tear at her skin, and she screamed in agony. After a moment, the pain died away, and Malon's consciousness quickly slipped into the abyss. She was dying, but her last thought before death took her was one of quiet benevolence.

_Link, live!_

"Malon!" Link cried out, his scream mixing with Malon's as Ganon's magic took hold of her. The dark energy seeped through Malon, covering her with what looked like black fire.

Link thrashed around in the dark Link's grip, but to no avail. "Malon!" he screamed again as the black light faded away. She seemed almost untouched by the magic, still standing in the same position, still holding her arms up to protect Link. But she didn't stir. Her chest didn't move, her heart didn't beat. It was her corpse that stood before Link, her corpse and his broken heart.

"NOO!" Link screamed. She had been turned to stone by Ganon's magic. A statue was all that was left of her bright vitality. A statue that would forever mark her place in the Prophecy of Ages.

Link thrashed around even more violently, tears flying off of his cheeks. He needed to get free! He needed to be with her, to hold her, touch her. Hysteria gripped him, urgently screaming at him, causing his heart to race and his mind to tremble.

_She can't be dead!_ Link cried out in his mind. _I made her a promise! No! She has to still be alive! _He was frantic; he needed to be with her!

Suddenly a piercingly bright light shot out from behind the pillar to his left. The radiant shaft was brighter than the sun, and its shining brilliance smashed into the dark figure that held Link, hurling him through the air. Link, finally free of the demon's grasp, scrambled desperately across the marble floor to Malon's lifeless body.

He cried out at the feel of her cold stone legs. The feeling so contrasted that of her once warm flesh that Link felt a part of himself die. His broken consciousness receded, and he found himself sitting somewhere deep in the back of his head, watching everything as if from a distance. The pain didn't hurt so much from back here.

Strangely calm, Link searched behind himself for the origin of the beam of light. Zelda, in all her regal beauty, strode out from behind the pillar, ornate golden bow in hand. It didn't matter why she was there, only that she was. At the other end of the chamber, Dark Link was getting back to his feet, apparently unharmed.

Things were all happening so quickly. Zelda, Ganon, Dark Link; they all played a part in some larger game. How had Link ever thought that he could match them? How had he ever expected to save Malon? Because of his weakness, Malon was dead.

Suddenly, something deep within his mind burst open, and out flooded the memories of things he had seen and heard since Sam's death. _More power than Ganon could ever have._ They washed over him, flooding him in reminiscence. _You must overcome my trial. _His words, the Goddess' words, Sheik's words, they all flashed through his mind. _For them I need to be more._

His eyes glazed over, and his body tightened like a wound spring. Turning his head, he gazed up at the Master Sword. _I know what I have to do._

Link pushed himself to his feet. Reaching a hand out, he brushed Malon's stone cheek. Even in death, she was beautiful. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I love you."

Outwardly serene, he began the long walk up to the resting place of the Master Sword. Time slowed as he walked, and he heard everything as if through a long tunnel. Ganon's mocking laughter, Zelda's gasp of surprise, Dark Link's shrill cackle. Vaguely, he saw Dark Link racing after him onto the marble dais, but it was too late.

In a trance, Link slowly stretched his hand toward the sacred blade. Inch by inch, his fingers neared the blade, open wide, ready to grasp it. Behind him, Dark Link had almost reached the pestle, black sword drawn back for the blow that would end Link's life.

Link shut his eyes and his fingers closed on the hilt.

Energy exploded within him, filling every edifice of his body with liquid light. The Master Sword moved of its own accord, spinning faster than Link could follow to catch the edge of Dark Link's black blade. Link could hardly breathe; the energy that ripped through him was overwhelming. His blood felt like it was on fire, his skin tingled, and his hair stood on end.

"BY TRUSTING YOURSELF IN THE FACE OF DEATH, YOU HAVE SHOWN TRUE COURAGE," Farore's emerald voice boomed within the chamber, shaking the stone walls with the power of her words. "NOW AWAKEN, HERO OF TIME!"

The Master Sword exploded with light, showering its radiance throughout the Temple of Time. Link moved instinctively, thrusting his white blade through both Dark Link and his black sword. They disappeared with a faded scream, the residual dark smoke simply dissipating into the air.

As if through someone else's eyes, Link saw himself turn toward Ganon and raise his sword, fire in his eyes. "Ganon," he said. Or someone did, he wasn't sure who.

Link moved faster than he ever had before, faster than the eye could follow, faster than lightning. He disappeared from the raised dais in a flash and reappeared in front of Ganon. He swung the Master Sword, scoring a huge gash across Ganon's chest and making the demonic man cry out in surprise and pain. But he wasn't done. Again and again he moved, disappearing and appearing with lightning speed, rending Ganon in dozens of places until blood poured out of the monster like a fountain.

Gasping in pain, Ganon fell to his knees. Link halted his powerful barrage, coming to rest next to Ganon's broken body. The demon suddenly laughed, spurting blood onto the marble floor. "You can't kill me! I am immortal!"

Silently, Link clasped both hands to the Master Sword, raising it into the air above his head. The white hot energy that pulsed within him was drawn to the sword, making it throb with blinding light, thousands of times brighter than before.

Ganon's eyes grew wide with fear. "No! This cannot happen!"

With a loud roar, Link swung the Master Sword down, through Ganon's neck. As the sword connected with the demon's green skin, the blinding light from the blade exploded into Ganon's body, flashing brighter then the sun. He screamed, a long, sick scream that shattered the windows and rent the air.

The sound died out, and the light receded.

Ganon was gone.

It had ended.


	19. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Of sorrow will he be reborn,

Of despair will he prevail,

The demon slain, the cycle restored,

His loss will mark his tale."

"It—it's over?" Zelda whispered from behind Link. Still in a daze, Link spun around and wobbled uneasily over to the stone figure that was Malon. The Master Sword fell out of his fingers onto the ground, and he dropped to his knees. Leaning back, he gazed helplessly up into Malon's lifeless stone face.

"She wasn't supposed to get hurt," Link muttered. He did not cry, for he had no tears left to shed, but his voice was tinged with misery and regret. Zelda, having regained her posture, glided up behind him and lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Can't you do anything to save her?" Link asked desperately. Zelda shook her head.

"Only the Goddesses have the power to overturn death," she said sadly. "I'm sorry." Link was silent. He couldn't admit that she was really gone, but somewhere deep inside of him, he knew that he had lost her.

Link knelt there for as long as he could, silently mourning for Malon and the times that they would never again experience. Eventually, Zelda walked around to kneel in front of him.

"Link, I must now return to my own time," she said. Link blinked in surprise.

"What? How?"

"The Ocarina of Time can send me back to the age that I left," she replied. "Link, my people need me. I left them without any means of protection against the evils that still plague the land."

Sadly, Link nodded, pulling the sky blue ocarina out of his pocket and placing it in Zelda's open hands. It had been this same ocarina that he's found in his hand almost a month ago after having a vision of the temple he was now in. It had been this ocarina that had released Ganon and Dark Link, letting them run freely through Hylia. _This ocarina…_

Surprisingly, Link was relieved when Zelda took the ocarina from him. It had been like a weight on his mind, a reminder of what he'd seen and experienced. Without it, he felt like he was starting over again. Zelda brought the ocarina to her lips slowly and gracefully.

"Wait," Link blurted out suddenly. _What am I doing? _he asked himself, unsure about what he was about to do. "Take me with you." Zelda's eyes widened in shock.

"Please," Link pleaded. "I can't stay here like this, pretending that nothing ever happened. I'm the Hero of Time. I need to be protecting Hyrule wherever…or whenever it needs me."

Zelda knelt there, staring at Link for a long time. Finally, she nodded.

Without a word, she brought the ocarina back up to her lips and blew. The sound that erupted out of the ocarina was both powerful and beautiful. It colored the temple around them, arousing Link's emotions in a maelstrom of love, sadness, and joy. The feelings tore unchecked through Link's mind, threatening to drive him mad, but the ecstasy that soared within him was more powerful, and more beautiful than any fleeting passion.

Time seemed to shudder, and the temple around him faded away in a flash of blue light. He was falling, falling toward a new time, a new beginning. Link closed his eyes.

_I am the Hero of Time!_

"O' rejoice! Nation unawares!

O' lament! Hero of Time!

May he find the melodious tune!

May he find the Sands of Time!"


	20. The Prophecy of Ages & Afterword

Here it is at last! Who knew that it would take so long to write one simple little book? Oh the hours I've slaved away in my room, recording all the thoughts and ideas that so often seem to explode out of my skull with little regard for what or whom they are directed toward. However, this literary journey has been nothing less than enlightening for me. On my part, writing has always been menial labor, requiring little skill except that of twirling my pencil and avoiding irritating cramps, but now I see it as an art form. To create dynamic characters, comprehensible sequences of events, even an entire world out of just words requires such intricacy, such creativity that I doubt if I will ever surpass my own aspirations on that front.

Now when I sit down to read a book, the pages portray more to me than just a story. I see the mood, tone, and message behind the chapters. The characters live and breathe with me, for that is how I envision my own characters. The words flow, for I endeavor to create fluidity in my own writing. The book itself becomes a window into the author's mind.

It is my strongest and most fervent wish that any readers of my book will consume its pages with an open mind, relaxing prejudice and discrimination fully until the final cover is closed. Alas, I am not naïve, and I realize that a topic such as the one I have ventured to recreate will incite skepticism no matter the circumstance; however I hold fast in defense of my work.

It is my avid belief that a prospective writer should not only write about something that they enjoy, but also about something that other people enjoy along with them. Writers must have readers, or else their writing is dead. I do not mean dead in regards to quality, but rather in regards to the evolution of quality! Without readers to critique and compliment their work, writers can quickly become dry and stale. Ours is a lifestyle akin to that of a plant, in constant need of watering and care.

Responsibility too then falls upon the reader. It is for you that these works of art are created. Would you let them shrivel? Or will you aspire to feed us that life-giving sustenance through your accolades and admonishments? I beseech you, do not be silent! Our worth is reflected through our growth and through the supporters of that growth. Critics are a rare luxury deserved by all who enter our field, but afforded by only a few.

In regards specifically to my readers at fanfiction, I am considering the option of writing a sequel based on the events that occured in the Epilogue. I'll probably title it, The Legend of Zelda: Sands of Time. If you think that this is something you would enjoy, please let me know! Review me! Critique me! Compliment me! Anything!

Also, you may or may not believe this, but this project does not merely end with the conclusion of this novel! I have the great fortune of being the producer and manager of a film company based in Washington. In fact, this entire story was written with a movie in mind. I have only to compose the script (in progress) and we can begin production! Over the course of this year, I have raised sufficient funds, created costumes, and gotten ahold of actors for the parts I need. Filming should commence this summer, and I would expect the footage to be edited and finalized by early fall at the latest.

This movie is NOT to be confused with just another typical Youtube fanfilm. Alpha Studios is a semi-professional, low-budget, organization that works primarily with high school and college kids to get them interested and integrated into the filming/acting industry. At our disposal are plenty of resources including professional editing software and fully capable editors, screenwriters (like myself), actors, directors, producers, professional equipment, etc. In fact, many of the people involved in Alpha Studios work more than one job! I am a writer and co-producer, but I am also being considered for the acting role of Link! Exciting!

If anyone is interested in the movie, suscribe to THIS story. I will post another chapter when it is avaliable. On the other hand, I am also curious as to if anybody would want me to post the screenplay as another chapter once it is finished. Talk to me! Let me know what you think! Questions, comments, whatever!

Below I've posted the Prophecy of Ages as it is referred to in the story. I wrote this BEFORE the rest of the story, and the quotes at the beginning of the chapters are actually taken from this. I thought that you all might be interested.

* * *

This is a record of a prophesy given by the Oracle of Ages in the land of Leburennu and translated by Princess Zelda of the Hylian Province:

Goddesses three made the world: Nayru, Faore , Din  
Their depart marked beginnings pure and divine.  
Beauty absent, a power was sought for  
And Hyrule's last chapter was nigh.

At the trumpets call, a hero was born  
That battle did do to the demon  
At the bid of the princess did he arise  
And subdue evil for the sake of freedom

Thus eternity's cycle was born  
And ceaseless will wheel turn  
The demon will not be eradicated  
And princess not be put in ruin

Never-ending clash of sword will  
By hero and demon be made  
Of bloodlust and power will one destroy  
Of virtue the other will save

The cycle never ceasing,  
The land safe and populace prosperous  
But imbalance terrible originate  
And scales be turned by shadow

Old will topple, the new shall be found  
The demon's wrath shall he witness  
Youth still will he take the journey  
The path he is set by the princess

Fraternity dear will be threatened  
To incite his ceaseless search  
Hero no longer with blade by his side  
May ageless quest give him truth

Hero's might will be tested,  
Ordeal tragic will he face  
Power worthy, Wisdom plenty,  
Courage proven too late

Hero that is no hero will he be  
Nameless, faceless, lost  
Surrender is his last resort  
Prevented by love is his cost

Of sorrow will he be reborn,  
Of despair will he prevail  
The demon slain, the cycle restored  
His loss will mark his tale.

O' rejoice! Nation unawares!  
O' lament! Hero of Time!  
May he find the melodious tune!

May he find the sands of time!


	21. sneak peak to Sands of Time!

This is the first chapter of Sands of Time, a sequal to Prophecy of Ages. Subscribe to the new story for more chapters!

* * *

The air was still. Even time itself seemed to have grown stale in the peaceful glade. The blue sky rained down shards of light upon the vista, sparkling off the dewdrops in a dazzling show of beauty. The surrounding forest stood stoically, standing guard against those who would defile the sacred stone structure in the middle of the clearing. No animals entered here; no birds sung their songs, no spiders spun their webs, no deer made their beds in the dell. It was as if they knew of the sanctity of the structure, that they did not belong.

The building itself was entrancing. Its high stone walls reached up high into the air, adorned with fanciful stained glass windows, or what was left of them. Nearly every window was shattered, leaving just fragments of the beauty they once had portrayed. The top of the temple—for that is what the structure was—ended in jagged ramparts with vines trailing down to swing across the battered windows like so many drapes. The ground around the building was littered with pieces of stone lost from the ancient walls, each different in size and shape, but each with a history all its own. Even the grand oaken doors that opened into the temple were decrepit and missing boards to make them whole. It was as if the entire place was crumbling into dust. Dust that would find its place among the sands of time.

Since the beginning of time, the temple had made its home in one place. It was, and is, the epicenter of legends. As time changed, so did the world around the temple, but the temple remained the same. Day to day, year to year, it was forever.

However the age of eternity was coming to a close. Magic was all but forgotten, dormant within the hearts of man. No longer did legends rule in Hyrule. No longer did the people pray to their Goddesses.

The sands of time were running out. Soon the hourglass would be turned again, and a new age would appear. The Temple of Time would crumble, and no legends would survive. The wind can only carry them so far.

Within the temple was little save dust and memories. Light cascaded through cracks in the vines to reach across the floor. Rotted timber from the ceiling above had fallen haphazardly, and the empty pedestal and the raised dais at the end of the hall held none of the luster they had once revealed.

One thing remained untouched. The dark magics that had created it also protected it, keeping it immortal within an eternity that was just realizing its mortality.

A statue of a girl. A young woman, her face drawn in determination and suffering, her arms held forward in a curious gesture. It was not as if to ward off danger, but to fight it, push it back by the mere strength of her will. She was holding the sands of time at bay, fighting the flow that cannot be fought. Her arms, lifeless. Her chest, still. Her cheeks, cold. Her hair, hard as granite. But in her ear lingered a promise, a promise hundreds of years old.

"I love you."

Time did not move here, but the nature of time was shifting, changing. The sands were diminishing, but there were still some that remained. Some stories to tell, some adventures to be had, some losses to be endured.

The sands of time had not run out.

Blue light shone out from within the chamber, bright blue light that rippled across the ancient stone walls like water, finding the same gaps that had let the sun's rays into the great hall and exploding out of them with something akin to childlike joy. It began slowly, building in intensity, until it flashed once like the sun and disappeared, leaving the temple as it had been for uninterrupted centuries.

The sands of time had not run out.

Music began to fill the empty hall, music that carried with it something stronger than mere notes. The melody beat with a heart of its own, surging and receding, flowing and ebbing, pushing and pulling, exploring every corner for life to augment and sustain. Vines flourished and exploded in growth, weakened greens forcing their way through the cracks in the stone floor blossomed in a second, and even the grass creeping in through the open door shot up and multiplied.

The melody ended, but the music did not die out, it would echo among the life within the chamber for years, beating its tune.

The sands of time had not run out.

Now a voice. A voice of a girl, a young woman. A voice of emotion. Resolve, fear, anger, strength, courage, and love. The first voice in hundreds of years. The last voice in this age.

"Link?"

The sands of time had not run out.

The sands of time.

This is the beginning and the end.


End file.
